Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the twenty-six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $218.25.

FANG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. TD Cowen upgraded Diamondback Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 1.5%

NASDAQ FANG opened at $201.10 on Friday. Diamondback Energy has a 12 month low of $132.20 and a 12 month high of $214.51. The company has a market capitalization of $56.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 233.84 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $190.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.74 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 7.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 18.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 488.37%.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other news, CFO Jere W. Thompson III sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.47, for a total value of $136,852.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,975 shares in the company, valued at $3,644,838.25. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 107,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,473,450. The trade was a 4.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 164,321 shares of company stock worth $30,054,975. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 245.1% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 176 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

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.