Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Given Outperform Rating at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on Diamondback Energy and set a $240 price target, implying 21.26% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $224.54; 24 analysts rate the stock a Buy, two a Strong Buy, and five a Hold.
• Diamondback exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $6.48 in EPS versus $6.08 expected and $5.56 billion in revenue, up 51.2% year over year. Insiders sold $28.1 million of stock over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 90.01% of shares.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $240.00 target price on the oil and natural gas company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target would indicate a potential upside of 21.26% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts have also commented on FANG. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $221.00) on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 13th. Capital One Financial upped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $272.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective (up from $205.00) on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Sunday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $224.54.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG stock opened at $197.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $196.57 and a 200-day moving average of $194.23. The company has a market cap of $55.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.64 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Diamondback Energy has a one year low of $137.03 and a one year high of $216.90.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.08 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $5.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy will post 20.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Charles Meloy sold 33,333 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.74, for a total value of $6,124,605.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 759,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,617,411.36. This trade represents a 4.20% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Travis Stice sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.31, for a total transaction of $15,323,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 49,727 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,159,723.37. This trade represents a 60.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 141,666 shares of company stock valued at $28,061,456 over the last 90 days. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FANG. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,303,362,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $852,791,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 31.3% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,420,247 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $2,886,351,000 after purchasing an additional 3,918,943 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $268,855,000. Finally, EnCap Energy Capital Fund XII L.P. bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $169,342,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

Diamondback Energy, Inc is an independent oil and natural gas company headquartered in Midland, Texas. The company focuses primarily on the acquisition, development, exploration and production of unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.

Diamondback's operations are concentrated in the Midland and Delaware sub-basins, where it develops properties using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Its production includes crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.