Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on FANG. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $259.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Roth Capital set a $212.00 target price on Diamondback Energy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.55.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock opened at $205.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Diamondback Energy has a 1 year low of $134.30 and a 1 year high of $216.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $198.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.11. The stock has a market cap of $57.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.10 and a beta of 0.43.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.08 by $0.40. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The business had revenue of $5.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 19.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Director Travis D. Stice sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.31, for a total value of $15,323,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 49,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,159,723.37. This trade represents a 60.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles Meloy sold 33,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.41, for a total value of $6,613,600.53. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 818,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $162,338,466.77. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 338,577 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $50,890,000 after acquiring an additional 47,450 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 54,132 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $8,042,000 after purchasing an additional 5,816 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 381,710 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $57,382,000 after purchasing an additional 27,229 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Services grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 174.2% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 23,973 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $3,604,000 after purchasing an additional 15,229 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 67,977 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $10,219,000 after purchasing an additional 6,992 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the acquisition, development, exploration and exploitation of unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The company’s operations are concentrated primarily in the Midland and Delaware sub-basins.

Diamondback produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include drilling and completing horizontal wells, operating gathering and infrastructure assets, and managing mineral and royalty interests through its Viper Energy platform.