Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $201.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $224.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Susquehanna raised their price target on Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $209.35.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG opened at $202.60 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.15. Diamondback Energy has a 1-year low of $132.21 and a 1-year high of $211.96. The firm has a market cap of $36.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by $0.21. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 36.71% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 19.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total value of $179,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,516,241.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total transaction of $1,182,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 69,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,736,123.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total value of $179,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,585 shares in the company, valued at $1,516,241.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 7.2% in the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 809 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,975 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $3,999,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 412 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,667 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $734,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,420 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 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.