Analysts Set Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) PT at $193.39

Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty-three brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $193.3913.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on FANG shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $183.00 to $176.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 15th. Melius started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $213.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $176.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, August 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $143.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $41.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $142.80 and its 200-day moving average is $141.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.55. Diamondback Energy has a 52 week low of $114.00 and a 52 week high of $200.47.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 27.25%.Diamondback Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.80, for a total transaction of $2,913,120.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 102,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,586,306. This represents a 16.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $230,039,000. Smead Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $144,775,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 16,197.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 605,625 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $96,827,000 after buying an additional 601,909 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $77,622,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,950,160 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $311,792,000 after buying an additional 418,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

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.