Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Bank of America currently has $170.00 target price on the oil and natural gas company's stock, down from their previous target price of $202.00.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a "reduce" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Mizuho increased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $240.00 to $234.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.00.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

FANG traded up $2.82 on Tuesday, reaching $134.83. The company had a trading volume of 2,158,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,096,266. Diamondback Energy has a 52-week low of $114.00 and a 52-week high of $214.50. The company has a market cap of $39.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.40.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is presently 25.32%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FANG. Lakewood Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 11,340 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $1,858,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,892 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Buckhead Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 19,830 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $3,249,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. 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.