Zacks Research Analysts Decrease Earnings Estimates for FANG

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note issued to investors on Monday, March 9th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the oil and natural gas company will post earnings per share of $1.46 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.99. The consensus estimate for Diamondback Energy’s current full-year earnings is $15.49 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Diamondback Energy’s Q2 2026 earnings at $1.15 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.76 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.34 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $6.71 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $2.84 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $2.33 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $9.47 EPS.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 11.07%.The business had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. Diamondback Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho increased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $194.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Scotiabank set a $175.00 price target on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $199.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Diamondback Energy from $218.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.10.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $176.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.49 and a beta of 0.59. Diamondback Energy has a 52 week low of $114.00 and a 52 week high of $186.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $163.00 and a 200 day moving average of $151.99.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is presently 74.87%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 7,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.27, for a total value of $1,439,952.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 974,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $178,532,287.23. The trade was a 0.80% 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. Also, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 36,043 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.08, for a total transaction of $6,526,666.44. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 123,745 shares in the company, valued at $22,407,744.60. This trade represents a 22.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,168,462 shares of company stock worth $192,197,747 over the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 78.3% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 15,178 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,086,000 after buying an additional 6,665 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,113,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $493,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 10,144 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,328 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $4,030,000 after purchasing an additional 3,545 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

More Diamondback Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target on FANG to $212 and kept a “buy” rating, providing a sizable upside view versus the current price; this supports longer‑term valuation expectations. Goldman Sachs price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks issued several updates that include higher FY2027 estimates (FY2027 EPS raised), which traders may view as supportive for multi‑year earnings growth despite near‑term cuts. Zacks research notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data published for early March appears to show zero reported short interest and a 0.0 days‑to‑cover figure — likely a data reporting glitch and not meaningful to the market. (Treat with caution.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst revisions are mixed: Zacks trimmed several near‑term (Q1–Q3 FY2026) estimates and FY2026 EPS while raising some later‑year targets — this creates ambiguity around near‑term guidance versus longer‑term outlook. Zacks estimates changes
• Negative Sentiment: The largest shareholder, SGF FANG Holdings, priced an underwritten secondary offering of 11,000,000 Diamondback shares (gross proceeds ~ $1.9B). Diamondback will receive no proceeds — the sale increases available share supply and creates near‑term selling pressure. The offering is expected to close subject to customary conditions. Secondary offering priced
• Negative Sentiment: Market reports show the large shareholder offering (priced ~ $172.25–$176 per share in some reports) and the launch/pricing have already weighed on the stock, with coverage noting FANG shares moved lower after the announcement. Market reaction to offering
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling by senior executives has been filed: Chairman Travis Stice disclosed large sales (multiple filings) and Director Charles Alvin Meloy also sold shares — combined insider sales increase concern about shareholder exits. Chairman SEC filing Director sale

About Diamondback Energy

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.