Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target Raised to $219.00

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $218.00 to $219.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the oil and natural gas company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target points to a potential upside of 36.76% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $232.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $205.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $182.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen 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 an average price target of $210.70.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Diamondback Energy stock traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $160.14. 2,713,488 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,781,389. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.88. The business's 50-day moving average is $178.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.45. Diamondback Energy has a 12 month low of $147.93 and a 12 month high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.49 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 16.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In related news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total transaction of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,037,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $181,732,485.09. The trade was a 92.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $852,872. This represents a 19.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $87,924,000. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 95.3% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 938,474 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $161,793,000 after acquiring an additional 457,896 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,158,910 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $372,196,000 after buying an additional 439,579 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 16.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,012,329 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $603,038,000 after acquiring an additional 415,902 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 280.8% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 545,202 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $109,144,000 after purchasing an additional 402,026 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is owned by 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.