Evercore ISI Cuts Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target to $209.00

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its target price decreased by Evercore ISI from $235.00 to $209.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. KeyCorp began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They set an overweight rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They set a hold rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $247.00 to $223.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $237.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $205.82.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:FANG opened at $181.29 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a current ratio of 3.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $187.75 and a 200-day moving average of $195.25. Diamondback Energy has a 52 week low of $143.08 and a 52 week high of $214.50. The company has a market capitalization of $32.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.89.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.51 by $0.01. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 37.51% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 18.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total transaction of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,037,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $181,732,485.09. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 809 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 67.1% in the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 137 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,975 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $3,999,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 412 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,667 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.