Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $168.81 and last traded at $167.1070, with a volume of 1353964 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $162.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FANG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Roth Mkm set a $162.00 target price on Diamondback Energy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $173.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Scotiabank set a $175.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.90.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $48.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $152.69 and its 200-day moving average is $146.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.14. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 27.32%.The company had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 48.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 377,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.61, for a total value of $52,382,243.71. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,044,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,828,599.04. This trade represents a 26.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 245.1% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 176 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

About Diamondback Energy

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.