Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Stock Price Down 1.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) fell 1.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Raymond James lowered their price target on the stock from $245.00 to $214.00. Raymond James currently has a strong-buy rating on the stock. Diamondback Energy traded as low as $143.82 and last traded at $144.66. 366,125 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 2,422,690 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.55.

Several other analysts also recently commented on FANG. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Diamondback Energy from $252.00 to $232.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $227.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut Diamondback Energy from a "buy" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $213.08.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired 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 directly owns 5,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 247.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 191 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc increased its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 940.0% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 208 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 1.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $41.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock's fifty day moving average is $162.83 and its 200 day moving average is $172.36.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.32%.

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.

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