Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Now Covered by Melius Research

Melius Research started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $213.00 price objective on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. Melius started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $213.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $192.00 to $188.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Friday, May 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $193.33.

Diamondback Energy Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock opened at $137.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $39.91 billion, a PE ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $143.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.14. Diamondback Energy has a 1 year low of $114.00 and a 1 year high of $200.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 27.25% and a return on equity of 9.48%. Diamondback Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.43%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.80, for a total value of $2,913,120.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 102,145 shares in the company, valued at $14,586,306. This trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FANG. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 4.0% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 36,177 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $5,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,853 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $9,409,000 after purchasing an additional 3,467 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,149 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397 shares during the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the first quarter worth $327,000. Finally, Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the first quarter worth $2,631,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.