Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

FANG has been the subject of several other reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $199.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $182.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $208.05.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ FANG opened at $205.63 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Diamondback Energy has a 12 month low of $127.75 and a 12 month high of $206.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.85 billion, a PE ratio of 36.65 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.12.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 11.07%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 19.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Director Steven E. West sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.35, for a total transaction of $1,130,100.00. Following the sale, the director owned 4,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at $844,561.40. This trade represents a 57.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 4,101 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.51, for a total transaction of $781,281.51. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 56,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,743,239.92. The trade was a 6.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 1,217,069 shares of company stock worth $201,213,109 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 274 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 0.3% during the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 19,719 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $2,822,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 0.7% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 10,030 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 3.0% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsend & Associates Inc lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 14,330 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $2,161,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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