Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $209.71.

Several brokerages have recently commented on FANG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $231.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. KeyCorp began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $154.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock opened at $181.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.78. Diamondback Energy has a one year low of $143.08 and a one year high of $214.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a current ratio of 3.66.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 37.51% and a return on equity of 19.54%. Diamondback Energy’s revenue was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.68 EPS. Research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 19.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $2.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy’s previous None dividend of $2.26. This represents a yield of 1.9%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 20.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,085 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,710 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,004 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $776,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,014 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 7,021 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,097 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

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.