Scotiabank Cuts Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target to $225.00

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its price target cut by Scotiabank from $245.00 to $225.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector outperform rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on FANG. Susquehanna cut their price target on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $237.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays upgraded Diamondback Energy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and cut their price target for the stock from $216.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Diamondback Energy from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $208.59.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG opened at $194.96 on Thursday. 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 has a twelve month low of $145.70 and a twelve month high of $214.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $187.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $195.27. The stock has a market cap of $34.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.89.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.51 by $0.01. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 37.51%. The company had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy will post 19.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $2.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous None dividend of $2.26. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.29%.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total value of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,037,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $181,732,485.09. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clear Street Markets LLC raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 5,470.0% in the 4th quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Barden Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,737 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $886,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the period. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC now owns 54,131 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $8,395,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 519.0% in the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 8,047 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 6,747 shares during the period. Finally, Spouting Rock Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $325,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.