Diversified Energy (NYSE:DEC) Shares Up 4.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Diversified Energy Company PLC (NYSE:DEC)’s stock price traded up 4.1% on Tuesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $14.66 and last traded at $14.7390. Approximately 93,798 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 925,714 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.16.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on DEC. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Diversified Energy from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Diversified Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Diversified Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Diversified Energy from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Mizuho set a $32.00 price objective on Diversified Energy in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Diversified Energy by 57.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 304,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,312,000 after purchasing an additional 111,625 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in Diversified Energy during the first quarter valued at $10,546,000. Walleye Capital LLC increased its stake in Diversified Energy by 275.1% during the first quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 230,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,023,000 after purchasing an additional 169,198 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Diversified Energy by 8.3% during the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 6,148,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,383,000 after purchasing an additional 470,823 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Diversified Energy by 1,504.4% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 61,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 57,559 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.51% of the company’s stock.

Diversified Energy Stock Down 1.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.53 and a beta of -0.28. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Diversified Energy (NYSE:DEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.49). The firm had revenue of $442.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $492.98 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Diversified Energy Company PLC will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diversified Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.9%. Diversified Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 35.91%.

About Diversified Energy

Diversified Energy Company plc is an independent energy company that owns and operates a portfolio of mature, producing oil and natural gas wells in the United States. The company focuses on acquiring long-life conventional assets and managing them through their full operating lifecycle, with activities spanning production, maintenance, infrastructure management and well retirement.

The company’s operations are concentrated in established U.S. onshore producing regions, including the Appalachian, Central and Rockies areas.