Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Stock Price

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) had its price objective trimmed by Piper Sandler from $240.00 to $234.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the oil and natural gas company's stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $214.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $216.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Williams Trading set a $190.00 price target on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.96.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:FANG traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $136.76. 1,608,355 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,097,456. Diamondback Energy has a 12-month low of $114.00 and a 12-month 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. The company has a market cap of $40.22 billion, a PE ratio of 7.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44. The business's 50-day moving average price is $145.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.00.

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

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is presently 25.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,802.30. The trade was a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the third quarter worth about $1,215,000. Fulcrum Equity Management purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 11.3% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 2,027 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $3,935,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $138,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company's stock.

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.