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.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on FANG. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $233.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “sector outperform” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $243.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $182.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.64.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Diamondback Energy stock opened at $176.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $181.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.45. Diamondback Energy has a 52-week low of $145.70 and a 52-week 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.62 by ($1.24). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Diamondback Energy will post 16.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 1,037,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $181,732,485.09. This trade represents a 92.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $208,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $852,872. This represents a 19.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 178.1% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. grew its position 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 valued at $2,065,000 after acquiring an additional 3,008 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its position 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 valued at $883,000 after acquiring an additional 4,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Homestead Advisers Corp purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $87,940,000. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

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.