Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Given New $211.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company raised its price target for Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $211.00, indicating a potential upside of 53.01% from the current stock price.
• The stock is currently rated as "overweight" by Wells Fargo, while the consensus rating for Diamondback Energy is "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $191.73.
• Diamondback Energy shares dropped 1.5% to $137.90, with the company reporting a $2.67 EPS last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $210.00 to $211.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and natural gas company's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on FANG. Wall Street Zen cut Diamondback Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $216.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $191.45.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

FANG stock traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $140.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,889,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,092,406. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $143.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Diamondback Energy has a 1 year low of $114.00 and a 1 year high of $200.47. The stock has a market cap of $40.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 1.09.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.05). Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 27.25%. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.52 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 48.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is 28.43%.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.80, for a total transaction of $2,913,120.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 102,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,586,306. This represents a 16.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FANG. Demars Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $638,050,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,039,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $185,193,000. Smead Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $144,775,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,136,645 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $1,496,859,000 after acquiring an additional 928,429 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.