Diversified Energy Company PLC (NYSE:DEC) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $22.50

Diversified Energy Company PLC (NYSE:DEC) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DEC shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Diversified Energy from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on Diversified Energy from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a 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. Mizuho set a $32.00 price target on Diversified Energy in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Diversified Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday.

Diversified Energy Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of DEC opened at $14.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. Diversified Energy has a 1 year low of $12.33 and a 1 year high of $18.90.

Diversified Energy (NYSE:DEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.49). The firm had revenue of $442.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $492.98 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Diversified Energy will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Diversified Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.0%. Diversified Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diversified Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Diversified Energy by 8.3% in the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 6,148,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,383,000 after purchasing an additional 470,823 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Diversified Energy by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 617,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,773,000 after buying an additional 26,978 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Diversified Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $10,546,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Diversified Energy by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 304,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,312,000 after buying an additional 111,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Diversified Energy by 275.1% in the 1st quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 230,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,023,000 after buying an additional 169,198 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.51% of the company’s stock.

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.