Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

by · The Markets Daily

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANGGet Free Report)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $185.00 to $190.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Diamondback Energy traded as high as $186.66 and last traded at $187.3650, with a volume of 374237 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $182.33.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on FANG. Benchmark downgraded Diamondback Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $187.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Diamondback Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $199.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.38.

Read Our Latest Analysis on FANG

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other news, major shareholder Fang Holdings Lp Sgf sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.88, for a total transaction of $162,880,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 98,686,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,074,094,093.76. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 7,857 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 974,149 shares in the company, valued at $178,532,287.23. The trade was a 0.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,168,462 shares of company stock worth $192,197,747. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 245.1% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 176 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 106.3% during the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 2.6%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $164.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.75. The firm has a market cap of $52.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANGGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.26). Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The business had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

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

About Diamondback Energy

(Get Free Report)

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.

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