Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Upgraded at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has $215.00 target price on the oil and natural gas company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $205.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an overweight rating and a $182.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark upped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $154.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group dropped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $247.00 to $223.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $237.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an overweight rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $209.50.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

FANG stock opened at $194.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a current ratio of 3.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.27. The company has a market capitalization of $34.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.89. Diamondback Energy has a 52-week low of $143.08 and a 52-week high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 37.51%. Diamondback Energy’s revenue was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.68 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 18.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 approximately $181,732,485.09. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FANG. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 38.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,609,143 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,706,076,000 after purchasing an additional 2,381,488 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 235.6% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,730,482 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $541,844,000 after buying an additional 1,916,900 shares during the period. Homestead Advisers Corp acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy in the first quarter valued at $87,940,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 16.0% during the second 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 acquiring an additional 415,902 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 280.8% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 545,202 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $109,144,000 after acquiring an additional 402,026 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.