Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Given New $170.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Bank of America from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the oil and natural gas company's stock. Bank of America's price target suggests a potential upside of 24.74% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on FANG. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Diamondback Energy from $216.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup upgraded Diamondback Energy from a "reduce" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $157.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Diamondback Energy from $234.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $193.09.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

FANG traded down $1.21 on Friday, reaching $136.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,903,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,150,890. Diamondback Energy has a fifty-two week low of $114.00 and a fifty-two week high of $214.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $139.10 and a 200-day moving average of $155.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $39.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.87. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.50 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 81.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Hof Matthew Kaes Van't sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.69, for a total value of $1,426,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 120,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,214,835.05. This represents a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $896,802.30. The trade was a 53.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $23,822,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.6% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 42,901 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $6,859,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 68,127 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $10,892,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 28.0% during the first quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 48,000 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $7,674,000 after acquiring an additional 10,500 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.