Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on FANG. Truist Financial set a $242.00 price target on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $187.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $231.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $242.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $241.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.26.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Diamondback Energy stock opened at $191.48 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $53.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 222.65 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $195.28 and a 200-day moving average of $171.79. Diamondback Energy has a 52 week low of $133.75 and a 52 week high of $214.51.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.74 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.83 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 7.76% and a net margin of 1.87%.The business’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.54 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 19.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a $1.10 dividend. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 511.63%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.00, for a total value of $1,035,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 92,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,200,285. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jere W. Thompson III sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.47, for a total value of $136,852.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,975 shares in the company, valued at $3,644,838.25. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 174,321 shares of company stock valued at $32,090,475 over the last three months. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 37.5% in the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,726 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the second quarter valued at $2,301,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 13.5% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 51,104 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $7,022,000 after purchasing an additional 6,069 shares during the period. AXA S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 8.5% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 52,355 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $7,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,103 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 37.1% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 154,582 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $21,239,000 after purchasing an additional 41,866 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

Diamondback Energy, Inc (NASDAQ: FANG) is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the development, exploration and production of unconventional resources in the Permian Basin. Headquartered in Midland, Texas, the company concentrates its operations in the core Midland and Delaware sub‑basins of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it pursues contiguous acreage positions to support repeatable drilling programs.

Diamondback’s activities span the upstream value chain, including leasehold acquisition, well planning, drilling, completion and production optimization.