Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Key Points

• New 52‑week high: FANG hit a 52‑week high of $205.87 (trading around $204) and benefits from strong analyst support — a consensus “Buy” with an average target of $208.05 and several firms lifting targets (Citigroup to $230, Piper Sandler to $248).
• Earnings weakness: Diamondback missed the quarter with EPS of $1.74 versus $2.00 expected and reported revenue down about 9% year‑over‑year, despite a $57.6B market cap and a PE of ~36.5.
• Dividend hike but heavy insider selling: The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.05 (annual $4.20, ~2.1% yield), while insiders sold roughly 1.217 million shares (~$201M) last quarter and now own just 0.64% of the stock.

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $205.87 and last traded at $204.1390, with a volume of 1119270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $200.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FANG has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $178.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Freedom Capital upgraded Diamondback Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Diamondback Energy from $199.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $222.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $208.05.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 2.3%

The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $186.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.53. The company has a market capitalization of $57.55 billion, a PE ratio of 36.48 and a beta of 0.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.41 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 17.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were given a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Steven E. West sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at $844,561.40. This represents a 57.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 63,957 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.16, for a total transaction of $11,586,450.12. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 305,314 shares in the company, valued at $55,310,684.24. The trade was a 17.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 1,217,069 shares of company stock worth $201,213,109 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FANG. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 233.9% during the third quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 12,673 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $1,814,000 after acquiring an additional 8,877 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 9.6% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 117,733 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $16,848,000 after acquiring an additional 10,289 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the third quarter worth about $472,000. WoodTrust Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,624,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 9.7% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,385,428 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $198,255,000 after purchasing an additional 122,921 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

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.

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