Scotiabank Predicts Weaker Earnings for Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) – Research analysts at Scotiabank reduced their FY2024 EPS estimates for Diamondback Energy in a report issued on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank analyst P. Cheng now anticipates that the oil and natural gas company will earn $16.20 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $19.75. Scotiabank currently has a “Sector Outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Diamondback Energy’s current full-year earnings is $16.51 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for Diamondback Energy’s FY2025 earnings at $15.20 EPS.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by ($1.24). Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $232.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $233.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.83.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

FANG opened at $174.77 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $170.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.77. The company has a market capitalization of $51.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.88. 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 1 year low of $147.93 and a 1 year high of $214.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 48.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 146,870 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $28,008,000 after acquiring an additional 47,951 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 368.1% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 9,784 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 7,694 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,053,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 6.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,618,560 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $793,611,000 after buying an additional 266,299 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 18.5% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 42,678 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $7,358,000 after buying an additional 6,672 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $208,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,712 shares in the company, valued at $852,872. This represents a 19.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.61%.

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.