Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $185.9048.

Several equities analysts recently commented on FANG shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Diamondback Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy to $188.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $173.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 377,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.61, for a total value of $52,382,243.71. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,044,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,828,599.04. This represents a 26.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FANG. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 94.5% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC now owns 2,564 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 222.8% in the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 255 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $243,000. Finally, Milestone Asset Management LLC raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG opened at $160.27 on Thursday. Diamondback Energy has a 52-week low of $114.00 and a 52-week high of $173.01. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.59.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.14. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 27.32%.The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 48.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.80%.

About Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc (NASDAQ: FANG) is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the development, exploration and production of unconventional resources in the Permian Basin. Headquartered in Midland, Texas, the company concentrates its operations in the core Midland and Delaware sub‑basins of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it pursues contiguous acreage positions to support repeatable drilling programs.

Diamondback’s activities span the upstream value chain, including leasehold acquisition, well planning, drilling, completion and production optimization.