Citigroup Lowers Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target to $157.00

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) had its target price trimmed by Citigroup from $195.00 to $157.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the oil and natural gas company's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on FANG. Raymond James lowered their price target on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $214.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Mizuho increased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Williams Trading set a $190.00 price objective on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $215.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $209.92.

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Diamondback Energy Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ FANG traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $157.73. The stock had a trading volume of 1,007,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,843,248. The business's 50 day moving average is $160.80 and its 200-day moving average is $170.76. The company has a market cap of $45.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.03, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85. Diamondback Energy has a 52 week low of $137.09 and a 52 week high of $214.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. As a group, analysts predict that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.32%.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FANG. Demars Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $638,050,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $298,327,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $185,193,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 1,153.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,132,918 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $185,606,000 after buying an additional 1,042,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,136,645 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $1,496,859,000 after buying an additional 928,429 shares in the last quarter. 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.