Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $190.00 target price on the oil and natural gas company's stock.

FANG has been the subject of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $227.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $182.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. 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, Johnson Rice cut Diamondback Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.83.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ FANG traded up $4.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $170.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,016,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,902,609. 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 has a 1 year low of $147.93 and a 1 year high of $214.50. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $171.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.77. The company has a market capitalization of $49.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.88.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.62 by ($1.24). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.43 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The business's revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy will post 16.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is presently 20.61%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $208,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,712 shares in the company, valued at $852,872. This represents a 19.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FANG. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the second quarter valued at $202,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 23.4% in the second quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,540 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $909,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 33.9% in the second quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.8% during the second quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 4,225 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 15.9% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 22,012 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $4,407,000 after buying an additional 3,025 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.