Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Shares Up 2.1% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) traded up 2.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $146.00 and last traded at $143.55. 410,402 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 2,425,741 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on FANG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded Diamondback Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Williams Trading set a $190.00 price objective on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.92.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.84.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. On average, analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is presently 25.32%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Demars Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth $638,050,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth $298,327,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $185,193,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1,153.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,132,918 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $185,606,000 after buying an additional 1,042,505 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,136,645 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,496,859,000 after buying an additional 928,429 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

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.