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

Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty-six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty have assigned a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $195.4286.

Several research firms have weighed in on FANG. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Diamondback Energy from $183.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group raised their price target on Diamondback Energy from $194.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Scotiabank set a $175.00 price objective on Diamondback Energy in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Diamondback Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 20,899 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $3,761,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 60,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,888,740. This represents a 25.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Fang Holdings Lp Sgf sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.88, for a total transaction of $162,880,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 98,686,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,074,094,093.76. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,209,212 shares of company stock valued at $199,689,401. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,325,287 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $3,204,894,000 after purchasing an additional 388,512 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.9% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,733,538 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $821,649,000 after buying an additional 163,548 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,621,120 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $844,073,000 after buying an additional 14,625 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,159,365 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $775,607,000 after buying an additional 532,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,332,885 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $651,363,000 after acquiring an additional 534,073 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Diamondback Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Diamondback Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple banks raised ratings and price targets (large upside signals that boost demand): Raymond James moved its target to $240. Raymond James PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo reiterated a positive view and raised its target to $202, supporting buy-side interest. Wells Fargo Note
• Positive Sentiment: Diamondback increased its quarterly dividend to $1.05 (annualized $4.20), raising yield and reinforcing the stock’s income appeal. Dividend Increase
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data shows effectively zero reported short position (likely a data glitch), so short squeezes are not a near‑term factor. (internal filings/data)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/press coverage names Diamondback as a play on higher oil prices while also noting some peers (ConocoPhillips, EOG) currently show stronger liquidity/leverage metrics — useful for relative positioning but not directly negative to FANG. Peer Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling across multiple executives could cap upside and concerns among some investors: EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold a large block (reported 20,899 shares) and other insiders have sold in recent days. Zmigrosky Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Director Steven E. West sold 6,000 shares (~$1.13M) — filing with the SEC. Steven West SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 5,000 shares (~$950k) and CFO Jere Thompson III also trimmed a small position (750 shares) — additional insider dispositions disclosed via SEC filings. Teresa Dick SEC Filing Thompson SEC Filing

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 0.3%

FANG opened at $190.31 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $167.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.53. The firm has a market cap of $53.53 billion, a PE ratio of 33.92 and a beta of 0.59. Diamondback Energy has a twelve month low of $114.00 and a twelve month high of $193.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.26). Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. Diamondback Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were paid a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is presently 74.87%.

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.