Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on FANG. Barclays upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $216.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $182.00 target price for the company. Johnson Rice lowered Diamondback Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on Diamondback Energy from $225.00 to $216.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.64.

Diamondback Energy Trading Down 3.2 %

Diamondback Energy stock opened at $176.60 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.57 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $181.16 and its 200 day moving average is $191.43. Diamondback Energy has a one year low of $145.70 and a one year high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.62 by ($1.24). Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy will post 16.78 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is presently 20.61%.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total value of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,037,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $181,732,485.09. This trade represents a 92.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $208,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,872. The trade was a 19.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 178.1% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 30,532 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $6,112,000 after purchasing an additional 19,552 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 18.5% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 42,678 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $7,358,000 after buying an additional 6,672 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 33.5% during the third quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 11,978 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,065,000 after acquiring an additional 3,008 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 2,768.9% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 4,332 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $883,000 after acquiring an additional 4,181 shares during the period. Finally, Homestead Advisers Corp purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $87,940,000. 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.