Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target Cut to $161.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its price target trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $167.00 to $161.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

FANG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Friday, May 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $216.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.57.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of FANG opened at $137.89 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $141.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.39. The stock has a market cap of $40.55 billion, a PE ratio of 7.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Diamondback Energy has a 52-week low of $114.00 and a 52-week high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.87. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 81.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $896,802.30. This represents a 53.62 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $138,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 48.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 146,870 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $28,008,000 after purchasing an additional 47,951 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 20,222 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $3,298,000 after buying an additional 2,247 shares in the last quarter. Park National Corp OH lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 45,281 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $7,418,000 after purchasing an additional 4,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,716 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.