Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Benchmark

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) in a report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $195.00 price objective on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $182.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Diamondback Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.09.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ FANG opened at $175.64 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $184.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $193.50. Diamondback Energy has a 52 week low of $145.70 and a 52 week high of $214.50. The stock has a market cap of $31.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 37.51%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.68 EPS. Analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy will post 17.37 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $2.34 dividend. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy’s previous None dividend of $2.26. This represents a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total value of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,037,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $181,732,485.09. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 38.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,609,143 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,706,076,000 after acquiring an additional 2,381,488 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 235.6% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,730,482 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $541,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916,900 shares during the last quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $87,940,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,012,329 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $603,038,000 after buying an additional 415,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 280.8% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 545,202 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $109,144,000 after buying an additional 402,026 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

About Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc, an independent oil and natural gas company, acquires, develops, explores, and exploits unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin in West Texas. It focuses on the development of the Spraberry and Wolfcamp formations of the Midland basin; and the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring formations of the Delaware basin, which are part of the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico.