Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Now Covered by KeyCorp

Equities researchers at KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $225.00 price target on the oil and natural gas company’s stock. KeyCorp’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 13.17% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays began coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $214.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, June 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $243.00 price target for the company. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $224.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.35.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of FANG traded up $1.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $198.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 368,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,634,981. The company’s 50-day moving average is $196.87 and its 200-day moving average is $180.68. Diamondback Energy has a 52-week low of $125.69 and a 52-week high of $211.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by $0.21. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 36.71% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.10 earnings per share. Diamondback Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy will post 19.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Diamondback Energy news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total transaction of $1,182,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 69,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,736,123.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total value of $179,910.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,516,241.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total transaction of $1,182,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 69,677 shares in the company, valued at $13,736,123.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,900 shares of company stock worth $7,362,750 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FANG. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $103,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 9.9% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 101,213 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $15,676,000 after purchasing an additional 9,103 shares during the period. Mariner LLC raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.9% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 16,562 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $2,565,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 559.0% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 257 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 12.4% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,280 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,128,000 after buying an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.