Piper Sandler Cuts Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target to $215.00

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $218.00 to $215.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target indicates a potential upside of 20.77% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $194.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank set a $175.00 price target on Diamondback Energy in a report on Friday, January 16th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.00.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG stock traded up $1.31 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $178.02. 1,261,812 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,328,624. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.59. Diamondback Energy has a 52-week low of $114.00 and a 52-week high of $183.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.73 and a beta of 0.59.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. Research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 60,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 982,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $158,220,806.72. The trade was a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Fang Holdings Lp Sgf sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.88, for a total value of $162,880,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 98,686,727 shares in the company, valued at $16,074,094,093.76. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,239,837 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $487,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379,010 shares during the period. EnCap Energy Capital Fund XII L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $169,342,000. Smead Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $144,775,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 38.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,798,812 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $543,610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $112,198,000. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

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.