Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Stock Price Down 7.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares plunged 7.2% intraday to about $173.21 on Friday, with only ~294,843 shares trading — roughly a 90% drop from the average session volume.
• Wall Street remains largely bullish with a consensus "Buy" and an average price target of $204.14, as several firms raised targets (e.g., Raymond James $240, Citi $230, Wells Fargo $202).
• Diamondback missed quarterly estimates with EPS $1.74 vs $2.00 expected and revenue down 9% year-over-year, while insiders sold over 1.2 million shares last quarter; the company did raise its quarterly dividend to $1.05 (2.3% yield).

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 7.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $174.46 and last traded at $173.2060. 294,843 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 2,940,288 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on FANG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $173.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $178.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $222.00 target price for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.14.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

The company's fifty day moving average is $182.31 and its 200 day moving average is $160.69. The firm has a market cap of $50.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released 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). Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The company had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. Diamondback Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Diamondback Energy news, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 4,101 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.51, for a total transaction of $781,281.51. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 56,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,743,239.92. This trade represents a 6.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jere W. Thompson III sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.47, for a total value of $136,852.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,644,838.25. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,217,069 shares of company stock valued at $201,213,109. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 245.1% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 176 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 106.3% in the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

About Diamondback Energy

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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