Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.87 EPS

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday. 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, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.58 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 81.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.50 EPS.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of FANG stock traded up $1.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $137.89. 1,944,484 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,125,010. The firm has a market cap of $40.55 billion, a PE ratio of 7.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06. 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 is $141.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.24. Diamondback Energy has a 1 year low of $114.00 and a 1 year high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is 25.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FANG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $207.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America raised Diamondback Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $202.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $195.57.

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.