Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Diamondback Energy to “Buy” from “Hold.” The broader analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus price target of $224.05.
• Diamondback Energy reported quarterly EPS of $6.48, beating estimates by $0.40, while revenue reached $5.56 billion, up 51.2% year over year and above expectations.
• The stock opened at $204.97, near its 52-week high of $216.90, with a market capitalization of approximately $57.4 billion. Institutional investors own about 90.01% of the company.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on FANG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $221.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of Diamondback Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $248.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $216.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $224.05.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:FANG opened at $204.97 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Diamondback Energy has a 52 week low of $134.30 and a 52 week high of $216.90. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $197.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.40 billion, a PE ratio of 39.96 and a beta of 0.43.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $6.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. Diamondback Energy's quarterly revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 19.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Charles Meloy sold 33,333 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.41, for a total value of $6,613,600.53. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 818,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $162,338,466.77. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 21.0% during the second quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 294 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 1,251 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 274 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 19,719 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $2,822,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

Diamondback Energy, Inc is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the acquisition, development, exploration and exploitation of unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The company's operations are concentrated primarily in the Midland and Delaware sub-basins.

Diamondback produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include drilling and completing horizontal wells, operating gathering and infrastructure assets, and managing mineral and royalty interests through its Viper Energy platform.

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