Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

FANG has been the topic of several other reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $240.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.09.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock traded down $4.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $175.63. The stock had a trading volume of 3,690,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,739,715. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.08, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $182.56 and its 200 day moving average is $192.61. 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 twelve month low of $145.70 and a twelve month high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.62 by ($1.24). Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 37.51% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 17.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total transaction of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,037,819 shares in the company, valued at $181,732,485.09. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FANG. First Community Trust NA acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 67.1% in the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 137 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy in the second quarter valued at $40,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 99.2% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 251 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is currently 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.