Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target Increased to $225.00 by Analysts at KeyCorp

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its target price upped by KeyCorp from $210.00 to $225.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Diamondback Energy from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $129.00 to $170.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an equal weight rating and a $214.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $202.26.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 0.9 %

Diamondback Energy stock opened at $202.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $36.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 1.93. Diamondback Energy has a fifty-two week low of $123.41 and a fifty-two week high of $211.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $190.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.24.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.61 by $0.13. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 37.36% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy will post 18.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $3.08 per share. This represents a $12.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.08%. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In related news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $384,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 96,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,532,416. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $384,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 96,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,532,416. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,610 shares in the company, valued at $89,322,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 57,675 shares of company stock worth $11,311,096. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 145.2% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 11,993 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 7,102 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 748.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 15,221 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,361,000 after acquiring an additional 13,426 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 613.7% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,401 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $2,388,000 after acquiring an additional 13,243 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 143.0% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 981,284 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $152,177,000 after acquiring an additional 577,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 2.6% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,494,159 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $541,175,000 after purchasing an additional 89,663 shares during the period. 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.