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

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the twenty-two ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $193.09.

FANG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup raised Diamondback Energy from a "reduce" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $165.00 price target for the company.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG traded up $1.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $137.81. The company had a trading volume of 2,103,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,156,584. The stock has a market cap of $40.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06. Diamondback Energy has a 52-week low of $114.00 and a 52-week high of $214.50. 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's 50 day moving average price is $138.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.52.

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

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is currently 24.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Hof Matthew Kaes Van't sold 10,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.69, for a total transaction of $1,426,900.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 120,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,214,835.05. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,730 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FANG. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,247 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,380 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,892 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $1,129,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Buckhead Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 19,830 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $3,249,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Center For Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 1,976 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 68 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.