StockNews.com Upgrades Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on FANG. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Bank Of America (Bofa) lowered their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $147.00 to $129.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. 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. Mizuho boosted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $204.37.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 2.0 %

FANG opened at $201.50 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $195.49 and its 200-day moving average is $170.84. The company has a market cap of $35.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 1.91. Diamondback Energy has a 1-year low of $123.41 and a 1-year high of $211.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $6,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,322,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Diamondback Energy news, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $6,000,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 446,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,322,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $384,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 96,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,532,416. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 57,675 shares of company stock worth $11,311,096. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,717 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $3,058,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 145.2% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 11,993 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 7,102 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 748.0% during 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 period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 worth $2,388,000 after buying an additional 13,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 143.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.