Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Diamondback Energy from “Buy” to “Hold,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $222.21.
• Diamondback reported quarterly EPS of $6.48, beating estimates of $6.08, while revenue rose 51.2% year over year to $5.56 billion.
• Insiders sold 117,167 shares worth approximately $22.3 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own about 90.01% of the company.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on FANG. Truist Financial increased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $232.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $216.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $206.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.21.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock opened at $199.22 on Friday. Diamondback Energy has a 12 month low of $134.30 and a 12 month high of $216.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $55.79 billion, a PE ratio of 38.83 and a beta of 0.43. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $195.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.70.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $6.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.08 by $0.40. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 8.58%.The company had revenue of $5.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy will post 20.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 500 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.50, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,640,370.50. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles Meloy sold 83,334 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total value of $15,593,458.08. Following the sale, the director owned 851,530 shares in the company, valued at $159,338,293.60. The trade was a 8.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 117,167 shares of company stock valued at $22,305,309. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 338,577 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $50,890,000 after purchasing an additional 47,450 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 54,132 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $8,042,000 after purchasing an additional 5,816 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 174.2% in the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 23,973 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $3,604,000 after purchasing an additional 15,229 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 381,710 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $57,382,000 after purchasing an additional 27,229 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 67,977 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $10,219,000 after buying an additional 6,992 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company's stock.

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.

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