Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Downgraded to “Moderate Buy” at Johnson Rice

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) was downgraded by analysts at Johnson Rice from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Barclays raised their target price on Diamondback Energy from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $154.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.71.

Diamondback Energy Trading Down 2.6 %

NASDAQ FANG opened at $180.53 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Diamondback Energy has a 1-year low of $143.08 and a 1-year high of $214.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.81. The company has a market capitalization of $32.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.89.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 37.51%. The business’s revenue was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.68 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 18.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total transaction of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,037,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $181,732,485.09. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Founders Capital Management increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 404.0% in the first quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 126 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. First Community Trust NA bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 67.1% in the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 137 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

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.