Piper Sandler Cuts Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target to $215.00

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its price target reduced by Piper Sandler from $218.00 to $215.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on FANG. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $194.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $183.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Diamondback Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.00.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 0.8%

Diamondback Energy stock opened at $180.54 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Diamondback Energy has a 12 month low of $114.00 and a 12 month high of $183.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $161.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.16. The firm has a market cap of $50.93 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18 and a beta of 0.59.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.26). Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. Diamondback Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 60,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.12, for a total transaction of $9,764,677.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 982,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $158,220,806.72. The trade was a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Fang Holdings Lp Sgf sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.88, for a total transaction of $162,880,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 98,686,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,074,094,093.76. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FANG. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 274 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 0.3% during the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 19,719 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,822,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 0.7% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 10,030 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,435,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsend & Associates Inc grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 14,330 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $2,161,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Diamondback Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Diamondback Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler kept an “overweight” rating on FANG and trimmed its price target only slightly (from $218 to $215), signalling continued conviction in upside. Piper Sandler price target note
• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target substantially (to $216) and maintained a “buy” rating, providing another bullish analyst signal that supports further upside. UBS price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated a Buy rating with a $195 target, citing disciplined growth, expanding inventory and low breakevens — supportive fundamentals for investors focusing on cash returns and resilience. TD Cowen buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Market write-ups highlight FANG as one of the energy stocks leading this year’s rally (LNG/export tailwinds and shareholder-friendly cost structures cited), which may attract momentum buyers. Benzinga rally piece
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights FANG among names to watch as WTI moves above $75, indicating commodity-driven upside potential for upstream producers. Zacks oil price note
• Neutral Sentiment: A short-interest report in the feed appears unreliable (shows zero shares / NaN change), so there’s no clear evidence of a new short squeeze or mounting short pressure to impact the stock today.
• Negative Sentiment: Benchmark Co. downgraded Diamondback from “buy” to “hold,” removing one bullish endorsement and likely contributing to investor caution despite other positive notes. Benchmark downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage pieces (Barron’s) note that some energy names are being downgraded even as oil rallies, a theme that can cap multiple-stock rallies and temper enthusiasm for big rerating moves. Barron’s sector downgrade piece

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

Diamondback Energy, Inc (NASDAQ: FANG) is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the development, exploration and production of unconventional resources in the Permian Basin. Headquartered in Midland, Texas, the company concentrates its operations in the core Midland and Delaware sub‑basins of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it pursues contiguous acreage positions to support repeatable drilling programs.

Diamondback’s activities span the upstream value chain, including leasehold acquisition, well planning, drilling, completion and production optimization.