Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Short Interest Update

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,590,000 shares, an increase of 11.6% from the September 15th total of 5,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,970,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $182.99. The stock had a trading volume of 993,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,733,960. The company has a market capitalization of $32.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.89. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $186.94 and a 200-day moving average of $194.99. Diamondback Energy has a 12-month low of $145.70 and a 12-month high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.51 by $0.01. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 37.51% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The company had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.68 earnings per share. Diamondback Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 19.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $2.34 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous None dividend of $2.26. 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 value 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,381,488 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 235.6% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,730,482 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $541,844,000 after buying an additional 1,916,900 shares during the period. Homestead Advisers Corp purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy during the first quarter worth $87,940,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 16.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,012,329 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $603,038,000 after buying an additional 415,902 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 280.8% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 545,202 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $109,144,000 after buying an additional 402,026 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on FANG. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $230.00 to $219.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, September 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Diamondback Energy from $225.00 to $216.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target 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, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.32.

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.