Zacks Research Issues Negative Estimate for FANG Earnings

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) – Zacks Research cut their Q3 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Diamondback Energy in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the oil and natural gas company will post earnings of $2.23 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.38. The consensus estimate for Diamondback Energy’s current full-year earnings is $15.49 per share.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on FANG. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $169.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $183.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $173.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Friday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.90.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 1.7%

Diamondback Energy stock opened at $163.07 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.70 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.59. Diamondback Energy has a 12-month low of $114.00 and a 12-month high of $173.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $151.80 and its 200 day moving average is $146.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.48 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 27.32% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 48.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 27.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 377,911 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.61, for a total value of $52,382,243.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,044,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,828,599.04. This represents a 26.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 233.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 12,673 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,814,000 after purchasing an additional 8,877 shares in the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1,123.0% in the second quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 43,515 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $5,979,000 after buying an additional 39,957 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 181.6% during the second quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 2,290 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 9.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,385,428 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $198,255,000 after buying an additional 122,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WoodTrust Financial Corp purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy during the third quarter worth about $1,624,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Diamondback Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Recent intraday momentum: Zacks flagged that FANG rose despite broader market weakness, reflecting investor appetite for the name. Diamondback Energy (FANG) Increases Despite Market Slip
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: William Blair reiterated a Buy, citing low‑cost operations, disciplined maintenance‑mode capital allocation and robust free cash flow — factors that support dividend/share‑repurchase capacity and investor confidence. Diamondback Energy: Low-Cost Resilience… Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley cut its price target to $171 from $183 but kept an Overweight rating — a mixed signal: the firm remains constructive on FANG’s fundamentals while reflecting lower oil‑price assumptions that reduce upside. Morgan Stanley Lowered Diamondback Energy Target to $171
• Neutral Sentiment: Consensus/ratings context: Coverage publications note an average analyst view of “Moderate Buy,” keeping broader market sentiment mildly positive but not uniformly bullish. Diamondback Given Average Rating of Moderate Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation & comparisons: Recent pieces assessing valuation and peer comparisons provide context but no single catalyst — useful for longer‑term positioning rather than immediate price moves. Assessing Diamondback Energy’s Valuation Comparing Diamondback & Black Dragon
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest report shows no meaningful change (data appears abnormal/zero), so there’s no clear short‑squeeze or large short positioning signal at present. (Market data release.)
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings revision risk: Zacks Research trimmed its Q3 2026 EPS estimate to $2.23 from $2.38, which could pressure near‑term sentiment if other forecasters follow suit or if macro drivers (oil prices) weaken. Zacks Drops Q3 EPS Estimate

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.