Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Diamondback Energy has an average analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 25 analysts, with an average 12-month price target of about $223.26. Recent coverage was generally positive, including higher targets from Wells Fargo, Sanford C. Bernstein, UBS, and Raymond James.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.23 versus estimates of $3.74 and revenue of $4.24 billion versus expectations of $3.83 billion. It also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.10 per share, up from $1.05.
• There has been notable insider selling, including transactions by Director Steven E. West and EVP Matt Zmigrosky, with insiders selling 186,321 shares worth about $34.5 million over the last three months. Despite that, institutional investors still own roughly 90% of the stock.

Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-five analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $223.2632.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FANG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $202.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, April 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Steven E. West sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.35, for a total value of $1,130,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,484 shares in the company, valued at $844,561.40. The trade was a 57.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.54, for a total transaction of $1,002,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,392 shares in the company, valued at $9,303,451.68. The trade was a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 186,321 shares of company stock worth $34,499,475. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 245.1% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 176 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Diamondback Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Diamondback Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research increased its EPS forecasts for Diamondback Energy across multiple periods, including Q1 2027, Q2 2027, Q3 2027 and FY2028, signaling improved earnings outlook. Diamondback Energy (FANG) Is On Jim Cramer’s Radar When It Comes To Oil Stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer highlighted Diamondback Energy as a stock on his radar among oil names, which may be adding visibility and interest from investors. Diamondback Energy (FANG) Is On Jim Cramer’s Radar When It Comes To Oil Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent analyst coverage reiterated a Hold rating while modestly lifting near- and longer-term earnings estimates, suggesting sentiment is improving but not yet strongly bullish.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also remains in focus after multiple insider sales by executives, including EVP Matt Zmigrosky and CAO Teresa L. Dick, which can be viewed as routine profit-taking but may temper enthusiasm. SEC filing for Matt Zmigrosky sale SEC filing for Teresa L. Dick sale

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $202.40 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $195.45 and a 200-day moving average of $172.34. The firm has a market cap of $56.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 235.35 and a beta of 0.42. Diamondback Energy has a twelve month low of $134.30 and a twelve month high of $214.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.74 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 7.76%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.54 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 19.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is presently 511.63%.

About Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc NASDAQ: FANG is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the development, exploration and production of unconventional resources in the Permian Basin. Headquartered in Midland, Texas, the company concentrates its operations in the core Midland and Delaware sub‑basins of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it pursues contiguous acreage positions to support repeatable drilling programs.

Diamondback's activities span the upstream value chain, including leasehold acquisition, well planning, drilling, completion and production optimization.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.