Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Twenty-four analysts rate Diamondback Energy “Moderate Buy,” including 15 buys and four strong buys, with an average 12-month price target of $228.90.
• Recent results exceeded expectations: The company reported quarterly EPS of $6.48 versus the $6.08 consensus estimate and revenue of $5.56 billion, up 51.2% year over year.
• Shareholders received a quarterly dividend of $1.10: The annualized payout is $4.40 per share, representing a 2.4% yield, while institutional investors own approximately 90% of the stock.

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-four analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $228.90.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FANG. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $221.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays cut their price target on Diamondback Energy from $232.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $216.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 19th.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock opened at $184.08 on Tuesday. Diamondback Energy has a 1 year low of $137.03 and a 1 year high of $216.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of $197.30 and a 200 day moving average of $194.30. The firm has a market cap of $51.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.88 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 (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $6.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.08 by $0.40. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The firm had revenue of $5.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 20.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.77%.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Director Charles Meloy sold 33,333 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 818,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,338,466.77. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 dated Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.31, for a total transaction of $15,323,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 49,727 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,159,723.37. The trade was a 60.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position 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 valued at $50,890,000 after buying an additional 47,450 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Services grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 174.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 15,229 shares in the last quarter. Robinhood Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,307,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 512,271 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $90,047,000 after acquiring an additional 16,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 33.1% during the first quarter. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC now owns 113,489 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $22,447,000 after purchasing an additional 28,246 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

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.

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