Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Given New $245.00 Price Target at Susquehanna

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its target price upped by Susquehanna from $212.00 to $245.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a positive rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $183.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an equal weight rating and a $214.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank upped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $202.26.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ FANG opened at $202.58 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Diamondback Energy has a 12-month low of $123.41 and a 12-month high of $211.96.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.61 by $0.13. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 37.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy will post 18.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $3.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $12.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.08%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 20.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 2,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.35, for a total transaction of $514,536.25. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,632,089.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 2,675 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.35, for a total transaction of $514,536.25. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,632,089.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 5,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.94, for a total transaction of $969,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,619,663.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 57,675 shares of company stock valued at $11,311,096. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Founders Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 404.0% during 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 last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Logan Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

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.