Barclays Cuts Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target to $178.00

Key Points

• Barclays has reduced its price target for Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) from $185.00 to $178.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating which suggests a potential upside of 19.60% from the stock's previous close.
• Despite the downgrade, two investment analysts have rated the stock as a Strong Buy, while the consensus rating remains "Buy" with a target price of $192.55.
• Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of Diamondback Energy, representing a 16.65% decrease in his position, which raises questions about insider sentiment.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by analysts at Barclays from $185.00 to $178.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the oil and natural gas company's stock. Barclays's target price suggests a potential upside of 19.60% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on FANG. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Diamondback Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $163.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $176.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $192.55.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 0.2%

FANG opened at $148.83 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Diamondback Energy has a fifty-two week low of $114.00 and a fifty-two week high of $197.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $142.83 and a 200-day moving average of $141.34.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 27.25%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 48.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.52 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Diamondback Energy news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.80, for a total value of $2,913,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 102,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,586,306. This trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the first quarter valued at $230,039,000. Smead Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $144,775,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $77,622,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,950,160 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $311,792,000 after purchasing an additional 418,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,325,287 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $3,204,894,000 after purchasing an additional 388,512 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

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.

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