Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Stock Price

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $227.00 to $206.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 30.76% from the company’s current price.

FANG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $195.00 to $157.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.33.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:FANG opened at $157.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Diamondback Energy has a one year low of $137.09 and a one year high of $214.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $158.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.73. The stock has a market cap of $45.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.07. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The business had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $896,802.30. This represents a 53.62 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. 111 Capital acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Thoma Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth $640,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 145.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,162 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $6,416,000 after buying an additional 23,191 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 1,758 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter worth $901,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.