Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on FANG. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $235.00 to $209.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “sector outperform” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.64.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG stock opened at $176.60 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Diamondback Energy has a 12-month low of $145.70 and a 12-month high of $214.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $181.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.43. The company has a market capitalization of $51.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.89.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.62 by ($1.24). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. Diamondback Energy’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.49 EPS. Analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 16.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 20.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In related news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total value of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,037,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $181,732,485.09. This trade represents a 92.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $208,150.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,872. This trade represents a 19.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 67.1% during the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 137 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 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.