Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $183.36 and last traded at $177.8460, with a volume of 822811 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $174.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on FANG. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $173.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Mizuho increased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $194.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.86.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 0.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $49.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.44 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $158.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.87.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The business’s revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Fang Holdings Lp Sgf sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.88, for a total transaction of $162,880,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 98,686,727 shares in the company, valued at $16,074,094,093.76. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 60,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.12, for a total value of $9,764,677.60. Following the sale, the director directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 1,438,516 shares of company stock worth $225,026,921 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 245.1% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 176 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the third quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 264.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 186 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

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.