Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target Cut to $183.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $183.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $194.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $216.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a “reduce” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.09.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Diamondback Energy stock opened at $135.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $39.69 billion, a PE ratio of 7.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06. Diamondback Energy has a 52-week low of $114.00 and a 52-week high of $214.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $139.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.76.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.87. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.58 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 81.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.50 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Hof Matthew Kaes Van’t sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.69, for a total transaction of $1,426,900.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 120,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,214,835.05. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,802.30. The trade was a 53.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,136,645 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,496,859,000 after buying an additional 928,429 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 4.8% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,418,840 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $861,961,000 after buying an additional 249,098 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,710,165 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $769,706,000 after buying an additional 91,605 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,257,247 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $680,649,000 after buying an additional 94,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 5.3% in the first quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 4,102,785 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $655,953,000 after purchasing an additional 208,200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.