Piper Sandler Increases Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target to $247.00

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $227.00 to $247.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 22.65% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $192.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $214.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $250.00 to $248.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.95.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

FANG stock traded up $1.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $201.38. The stock had a trading volume of 776,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,746,389. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $35.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 1.93. Diamondback Energy has a 52-week low of $123.41 and a 52-week high of $211.96.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.61 by $0.13. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 37.36%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy will post 18.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In related news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.17, for a total value of $1,153,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,031,153.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 directly owns 446,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,322,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.17, for a total value of $1,153,020.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 78,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,031,153.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,675 shares of company stock valued at $11,311,096 over the last three months. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 6.0% in the first quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC now owns 3,156 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 8.2% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,932 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 13.6% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 34,403 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $4,716,000 after acquiring an additional 4,129 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the first quarter valued at $223,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the first quarter valued at $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

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.