Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

FANG has been the subject of several other reports. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. They set an outperform rating and a $243.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna raised their target price on Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $224.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Diamondback Energy from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $209.35.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ FANG opened at $188.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.18. Diamondback Energy has a 12 month low of $123.41 and a 12 month high of $211.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 36.71%. Diamondback Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.10 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Diamondback Energy will post 19.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total transaction of $1,182,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 69,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,736,123.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $6,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,322,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total value of $1,182,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 69,677 shares in the company, valued at $13,736,123.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,900 shares of company stock worth $7,362,750. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Founders Capital Management increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 404.0% in the 1st quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 126 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Logan Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.