Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target Cut to $224.00

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its price objective lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $227.00 to $224.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

FANG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America raised shares of Diamondback Energy from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $129.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $214.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $204.37.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock opened at $201.50 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $195.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 1.91. Diamondback Energy has a 52 week low of $123.41 and a 52 week high of $211.96.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by $0.21. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 36.71%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy will post 18.91 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.29%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $384,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 96,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,532,416. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $6,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 446,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,322,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $384,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 96,523 shares in the company, valued at $18,532,416. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,675 shares of company stock valued at $11,311,096 over the last 90 days. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,717 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $3,058,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 145.2% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 11,993 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 7,102 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 748.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 15,221 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $2,361,000 after purchasing an additional 13,426 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 613.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,401 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $2,388,000 after purchasing an additional 13,243 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 143.0% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 981,284 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $152,177,000 after buying an additional 577,514 shares during the last quarter. 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.