StockNews.com Upgrades Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

FANG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays raised Diamondback Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $216.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $225.00 to $216.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Susquehanna lowered their price target 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, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $209.64.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG traded up $2.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $182.24. 1,469,296 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,753,096. The company's 50 day moving average price is $181.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.76. Diamondback Energy has a 52 week low of $145.70 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.40, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.89.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy will post 17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.61%.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total value of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,037,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $181,732,485.09. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 38.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,609,143 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,706,076,000 after buying an additional 2,381,488 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 235.6% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,730,482 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $541,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916,900 shares during the period. Homestead Advisers Corp purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the first quarter worth about $87,940,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 25.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 439,579 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,012,329 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $603,038,000 after purchasing an additional 415,902 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.