Scotiabank Reduces Earnings Estimates for Diamondback Energy

Key Points

• Scotiabank cut its FY2026 EPS estimate for Diamondback Energy to $19.55 from $20.60, though it kept a Sector Outperform rating and a $195 price target. The firm also projected FY2027 EPS of $15.85.
• Diamondback’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $4.23 versus the $3.74 consensus and revenue of $4.24 billion versus $3.83 billion expected. Revenue rose 4.7% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.10 per share from $1.05, implying a $4.40 annualized payout and a 2.2% yield. However, insider selling has been notable, with executives selling shares in recent months.

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Scotiabank dropped their FY2026 EPS estimates for Diamondback Energy in a research note issued on Thursday, May 14th. Scotiabank analyst B. Zhang now forecasts that the oil and natural gas company will post earnings of $19.55 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $20.60. Scotiabank currently 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 $18.93 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for Diamondback Energy's FY2027 earnings at $15.85 EPS.

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

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on FANG. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $187.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $231.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $242.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $218.25.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ FANG opened at $203.56 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $191.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.93. The stock has a market cap of $57.26 billion, a PE ratio of 236.70 and a beta of 0.46. Diamondback Energy has a fifty-two week low of $132.20 and a fifty-two week high of $214.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.56.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is currently 511.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, CFO Jere W. Thompson III sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.47, for a total transaction of $136,852.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,644,838.25. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $950,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 107,755 shares in the company, valued at $20,473,450. This trade represents a 4.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 169,321 shares of company stock valued at $31,055,475. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.9% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,733,538 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $821,649,000 after purchasing an additional 163,548 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,621,120 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $844,073,000 after purchasing an additional 14,625 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,159,365 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $775,607,000 after purchasing an additional 532,756 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,332,885 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $651,363,000 after purchasing an additional 534,073 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,828,941 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $575,605,000 after purchasing an additional 117,798 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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