Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Should You Sell?

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $150.50 and last traded at $149.38, with a volume of 1738742 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FANG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Diamondback Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research raised 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $227.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $216.09.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $165.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.34. The company has a market cap of $41.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.86. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.07. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The firm had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FANG. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,858,555 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $2,044,415,000 after acquiring an additional 149,871 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised 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 valued at $1,496,859,000 after purchasing an additional 928,429 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,169,742 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $849,202,000 after purchasing an additional 571,820 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,710,165 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $769,706,000 after purchasing an additional 91,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,163,070 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $682,036,000 after purchasing an additional 502,916 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.