Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eighteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $200.96.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FANG shares. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $194.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $240.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

Diamondback Energy stock opened at $137.82 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Diamondback Energy has a 12 month low of $114.00 and a 12 month high of $214.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.17. The firm has a market cap of $40.53 billion, a PE ratio of 7.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.07. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 25.32%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FANG. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,215,000. Fulcrum Equity Management purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 2,027 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,935,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $138,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.