Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Reaches New 52-Week High at $205.42

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $205.42 and last traded at $204.04, with a volume of 58246 shares. The stock had previously closed at $204.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FANG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $177.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Bank of America raised Diamondback Energy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $129.00 to $170.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, March 4th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $191.32.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $36.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 1.93.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.61 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 37.36%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.29 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $3.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $12.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.96%. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is currently 20.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $6,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,322,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $6,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 446,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,322,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.17, for a total value of $1,153,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,031,153.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,675 shares of company stock worth $11,311,096 in the last three months. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FANG. First Hawaiian Bank increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 15.9% in the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 12,898 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $2,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,767 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 115.1% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,346 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,861 shares during the last quarter. Somerset Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 3,912 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $775,000 after buying an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Investment Group LTD. lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 36.8% in the 1st quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 8,969 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $1,797,000 after buying an additional 2,411 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, 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.