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

Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $185.9048.

FANG has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $173.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy to $188.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $174.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

FANG stock traded down $1.81 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $167.18. 214,722 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,984,191. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.63. Diamondback Energy has a twelve month low of $114.00 and a twelve month high of $169.49.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.48 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 27.32%.The company’s revenue was up 48.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 60,605 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.12, for a total transaction of $9,764,677.60. Following the sale, the director owned 982,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $158,220,806.72. This represents a 5.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 46,247 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $6,954,000 after buying an additional 6,481 shares during the period. Simmons Bank increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 10,154 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 370.2% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 931 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1,385.3% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 32,068 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $4,821,000 after acquiring an additional 29,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 2,390.0% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,490 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 2,390 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc (NASDAQ: FANG) is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the development, exploration and production of unconventional resources in the Permian Basin. Headquartered in Midland, Texas, the company concentrates its operations in the core Midland and Delaware sub‑basins of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it pursues contiguous acreage positions to support repeatable drilling programs.

Diamondback’s activities span the upstream value chain, including leasehold acquisition, well planning, drilling, completion and production optimization.