Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $183.36 and last traded at $177.8460, with a volume of 822811 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $174.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FANG shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $194.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $169.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Cowen upgraded Diamondback Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.86.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 0.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.44 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50 day moving average is $158.15 and its 200 day moving average is $149.87.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 11.07%.Diamondback Energy’s revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Fang Holdings Lp Sgf sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.88, for a total transaction of $162,880,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 98,686,727 shares in the company, valued at $16,074,094,093.76. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 60,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.12, for a total transaction of $9,764,677.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 982,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,220,806.72. This represents a 5.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,438,516 shares of company stock worth $225,026,921. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 233.9% in the 3rd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 12,673 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,814,000 after purchasing an additional 8,877 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 117,733 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $16,848,000 after buying an additional 10,289 shares during the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter valued at about $472,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 9.7% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,385,428 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $198,255,000 after acquiring an additional 122,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WoodTrust Financial Corp acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy during the third quarter worth about $1,624,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

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.