Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Stock Price Down 3.8% Following Analyst Downgrade

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)’s share price fell 3.8% during trading on Wednesday after KeyCorp lowered their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $176.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Diamondback Energy traded as low as $144.00 and last traded at $144.11. 287,918 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 2,386,920 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.86.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on FANG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $213.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Diamondback Energy from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $221.00 to $212.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $193.17.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,586,306. This trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 44,751 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $7,332,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 46,929 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $7,688,000 after purchasing an additional 11,621 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 182.9% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 232 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 969,515 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $158,862,000 after buying an additional 93,691 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 442,955 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $72,569,000 after buying an additional 165,800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $41.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 1.14.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 27.25% and a return on equity of 9.48%. Diamondback Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.43%.

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.