Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Melius Research

Key Points

• Melius Research has initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG), assigning a "buy" rating and a price target of $213.00, indicating a potential upside of 54.03% from its current trading price.
• Despite the bullish outlook from Melius, analysts have mixed sentiments, with some firms downgrading their ratings and the average target price among analysts being $193.38.
• Diamondback Energy's latest earnings report showed a net margin of 27.25% with revenues of $3.68 billion, exceeding expectations, although earnings per share fell short of analyst estimates.

Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $213.00 target price on the oil and natural gas company's stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on FANG. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Diamondback Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $228.00 to $222.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.33.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ FANG traded up $5.28 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $143.28. 2,028,152 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,073,046. The business's fifty day moving average is $142.79 and its 200 day moving average is $143.80. Diamondback Energy has a fifty-two week low of $114.00 and a fifty-two week high of $200.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.05). Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 27.25% and a return on equity of 9.48%. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.52 EPS. Diamondback Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 48.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.80, for a total transaction of $2,913,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 102,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,586,306. This represents a 16.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 36,177 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $5,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,853 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $9,409,000 after acquiring an additional 3,467 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,149 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,143,000 after acquiring an additional 2,397 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Finally, Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,631,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by 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.