Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $205.00 to $220.00. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Diamondback Energy traded as high as $186.66 and last traded at $187.3650, with a volume of 374237 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $182.33.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen raised shares of Diamondback Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 20,899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $3,761,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 60,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,888,740. The trade was a 25.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 7,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.27, for a total value of $1,439,952.39. Following the sale, the director owned 974,149 shares in the company, valued at $178,532,287.23. The trade was a 0.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,194,111 shares of company stock worth $196,828,019. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Diamondback Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James raised its price target to $240 and assigned a “strong‑buy” — a large upside signal that likely boosted investor demand. Raymond James PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho bumped its target to $220 and moved to “outperform,” reinforcing bullish analyst momentum across the stock. Mizuho PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its target to $202 with an “overweight” rating — another vote of confidence from a large bank. Wells Fargo PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays lifted its target to $190 and kept an “overweight” stance, adding to the cluster of price‑target increases. Barclays PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Press and research pieces name Diamondback as a way to play higher oil prices (Barron’s and Goldman Sachs roundup of energy picks), which supports sector‑driven buying. Barron’s: Underappreciated Energy Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage noting peers (ConocoPhillips, EOG) outperforming on liquidity and leverage may shift relative positioning among large‑cap energy names but is not directly negative for Diamondback. BofA Peer Liquidity Note
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 20,899 shares at ~$180 (25.7% reduction in his holding) — a large insider sale that may concern some investors. SEC Filing — Zmigrosky
• Negative Sentiment: VP Albert Barkmann sold 4,000 shares at ~$182.90 (12.7% reduction), another insider disposition disclosed to the SEC. SEC Filing — Barkmann
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Jere W. Thompson III sold 750 shares at ~$182.47 (3.6% reduction), a smaller but still notable insider sale. SEC Filing — Thompson

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 7.3% during the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 45,860 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $6,301,000 after purchasing an additional 3,125 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 53,454 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $7,345,000 after purchasing an additional 4,489 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 38.0% during the 2nd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 119,287 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $16,390,000 after purchasing an additional 32,838 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 74,783 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $10,275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,627 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 12,998 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,786,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $165.70 and a 200 day moving average of $153.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.37 and a beta of 0.59.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The business’s revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.87%.

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.