Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $149.33, but opened at $157.34. Diamondback Energy shares last traded at $155.06, with a volume of 1,634,872 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FANG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $234.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $193.09.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 3.7%

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 business has a 50 day moving average of $136.28 and a 200-day moving average of $152.81. The stock has a market cap of $45.26 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.87. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.50 EPS. Diamondback Energy's revenue was up 81.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is currently 24.46%.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, President Hof Matthew Kaes Van't sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.69, for a total value of $1,426,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 120,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,214,835.05. The trade was a 7.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,339 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,105 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 7,731 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,266,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 2,210 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portfolio Design Labs LLC acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $246,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

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.