Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target Increased to $168.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $163.00 to $168.00 in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on FANG. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $178.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $161.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, August 14th. Benchmark began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. They set a buy rating and a $154.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $154.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $177.35.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

FANG opened at $154.66 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $142.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Diamondback Energy has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $168.95. The stock has a market cap of $27.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.03, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 2.03.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 31st. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.92 by ($0.24). Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 41.62% and a return on equity of 22.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.07 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 30.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy will post 17.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 10th were issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 9th. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 17.44%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 5,812 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.16, for a total value of $872,729.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 30,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,532,729.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Steven E. West sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.65, for a total transaction of $1,205,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,315. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 5,812 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.16, for a total transaction of $872,729.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 30,186 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,729.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 48,912 shares of company stock valued at $6,938,458. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,656,848 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,575,653,000 after purchasing an additional 112,297 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 149.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,257,540 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,521,682,000 after buying an additional 6,748,670 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,968,392 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $519,995,000 after acquiring an additional 48,467 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,572,083 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $488,590,000 after acquiring an additional 85,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 20.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,056,732 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $277,983,000 after acquiring an additional 347,833 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

Diamondback Energy, Inc, an independent oil and natural gas company, focuses on the acquisition, development, exploration, and exploitation of unconventional and 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.