UBS Group Cuts Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target to $212.00

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at UBS Group from $235.00 to $212.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 26.85% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on FANG. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $225.00 to $216.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “sector outperform” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $240.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.17.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $167.12 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.57, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.88. Diamondback Energy has a 52 week low of $146.82 and a 52 week high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 16.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,037,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $181,732,485.09. This trade represents a 92.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $208,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $852,872. This trade represents a 19.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 67.1% during the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 137 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 3.0% in the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,907 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 3.3% during the second quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.8% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,821 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,566,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,817 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.