Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Trading Down 4.7% – Here’s What Happened

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) shares fell 4.7% 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FANG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $178.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $173.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $183.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. KeyCorp cut 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 note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $188.76.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $147.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.63.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.14. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 27.32% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 48.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 27.80%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 106.3% during the third 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 buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the third quarter worth about $31,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.