Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Shares Down 4.7% – What’s Next?

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)’s stock price traded down 4.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $146.48 and last traded at $146.8350. 983,542 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 2,222,252 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on FANG shares. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy to $188.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, August 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $176.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $188.76.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $42.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50 day moving average is $147.71 and its 200-day moving average is $144.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 377,911 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 1,044,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,828,599.04. The trade was a 26.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 106.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors 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.