Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Given “Outperform” Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $210.00 price target on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $233.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $207.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $225.00 to $216.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.00.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Diamondback Energy stock opened at $176.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $51.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.88. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.51. Diamondback Energy has a 1 year low of $147.93 and a 1 year high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by ($1.24). Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $208,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $852,872. This trade represents a 19.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 26,441 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $5,294,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 30,967 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $6,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 59.8% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 32,448 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $6,496,000 after purchasing an additional 12,147 shares during the period. AXA S.A. raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 35.4% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 25,167 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $5,038,000 after buying an additional 6,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,493,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.