Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, seventeen have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $210.70.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $233.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $157.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $46.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.88. Diamondback Energy has a one year low of $147.93 and a one year high of $214.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $174.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.62 by ($1.24). Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 16.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $208,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,712 shares in the company, valued at $852,872. The trade was a 19.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $87,924,000. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 95.3% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 938,474 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $161,793,000 after purchasing an additional 457,896 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 25.6% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,158,910 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $372,196,000 after purchasing an additional 439,579 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 280.8% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 545,202 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $109,144,000 after purchasing an additional 402,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 195.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 531,162 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $106,333,000 after purchasing an additional 351,329 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc, an independent oil and natural gas company, acquires, develops, explores, and exploits unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin in West Texas. It focuses on the development of the Spraberry and Wolfcamp formations of the Midland basin; and the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring formations of the Delaware basin, which are part of the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico.