Scotiabank Lifts Earnings Estimates for Diamondback Energy

Key Points

• Scotiabank raised its FY2026 EPS forecast for Diamondback Energy to $20.60 (from $18.60), retained a "Sector Outperform" rating with a $195 price target, and projects FY2027 EPS of $14.35 versus a consensus FY2026 estimate of $18.86.
• Multiple analysts have lifted price targets—Barclays to $225, Wells Fargo to $262 and Goldman Sachs to $212—leaving an average target of $215.70 and an overall consensus rating of "Buy."
• Diamondback beat Q1 estimates (EPS $4.23, revenue $4.24B), raised its quarterly dividend to $1.10 (annualized $4.40, 2.3% yield) despite a very high payout ratio (488%), and has seen recent insider sales while the stock trades near $190.

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) - Research analysts at Scotiabank lifted their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of Diamondback Energy in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 6th. Scotiabank analyst B. Zhang now anticipates that the oil and natural gas company will earn $20.60 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $18.60. Scotiabank has a "Sector Outperform" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Diamondback Energy's current full-year earnings is $18.86 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for Diamondback Energy's FY2027 earnings at $14.35 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $202.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $187.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $215.70.

Diamondback Energy Trading Down 2.5%

NASDAQ:FANG opened at $190.30 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $188.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.63. Diamondback Energy has a 12 month low of $130.48 and a 12 month high of $214.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $53.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 221.28 and a beta of 0.46.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.74 by $0.49. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 7.76%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.54 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 488.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 20,899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $3,761,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 60,493 shares in the company, valued at $10,888,740. This trade represents a 25.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven E. West sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.35, for a total transaction of $1,130,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $844,561.40. The trade was a 57.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 156,464 shares of company stock worth $28,568,431 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 245.1% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 176 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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