Evercore ISI Increases Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target to $215.00

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its target price lifted by Evercore ISI from $185.00 to $215.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on FANG. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $192.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Bank Of America (Bofa) decreased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $147.00 to $129.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $129.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $190.11.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

FANG opened at $198.17 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.77. Diamondback Energy has a fifty-two week low of $123.41 and a fifty-two week high of $198.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $172.86 and its 200 day moving average is $161.89. The stock has a market cap of $35.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 1.92.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.61 by $0.13. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 37.36% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.29 EPS. Diamondback Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy will post 17.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $3.08 per share. This represents a $12.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.76%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $384,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 96,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,532,416. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $384,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 96,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,532,416. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.17, for a total transaction of $1,153,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,218 shares in the company, valued at $15,031,153.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,675 shares of company stock worth $5,311,096. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FANG. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 145.2% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 11,993 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after buying an additional 7,102 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 143.0% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 981,284 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $152,177,000 after buying an additional 577,514 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 31,348 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $4,861,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Clarity Financial LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,153,000. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 14.3% during the third quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,332 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $3,923,000 after buying an additional 3,168 shares during the period. 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.