Susquehanna Raises Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target to $245.00

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its target price increased by Susquehanna from $212.00 to $245.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a positive rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on FANG. Raymond James lowered their price target on Diamondback Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Bank of America raised Diamondback Energy from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and upped their target price for the stock from $129.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $202.53.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG stock opened at $207.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $36.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 1.93. Diamondback Energy has a 52 week low of $123.41 and a 52 week high of $211.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.13.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.61 by $0.13. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 37.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy will post 18.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $3.08 per share. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $12.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.95%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 20.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In related news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 96,523 shares in the company, valued at $18,532,416. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 2,675 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.35, for a total transaction of $514,536.25. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,632,089.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 96,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,532,416. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,675 shares of company stock worth $11,311,096. Insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the third quarter valued at about $257,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $928,000. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $324,000. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $732,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $247,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.