Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target to $215.00

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its target price trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $219.00 to $215.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on FANG. StockNews.com raised Diamondback Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $227.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Diamondback Energy from $252.00 to $232.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Diamondback Energy from a “buy” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.92.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ FANG opened at $150.20 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $162.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.85. Diamondback Energy has a 52-week low of $137.09 and a 52-week high of $214.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.60, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.07. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lakewood Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 11,340 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 3.4% in the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,852 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,247 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Barden Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,380 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $718,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.4% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,795 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

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.