Stifel Nicolaus Boosts Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target to $229.00

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its price target increased by Stifel Nicolaus from $224.00 to $229.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on FANG. Bank of America raised shares of Diamondback Energy from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and upped their price target for the stock from $129.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $183.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $202.53.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG opened at $207.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 1.93. The company’s fifty day moving average is $193.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.49. Diamondback Energy has a 1 year low of $123.41 and a 1 year high of $211.96.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.61 by $0.13. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 37.36% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy will post 18.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $3.08 per share. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $12.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.76%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $384,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 96,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,532,416. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 2,675 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.35, for a total transaction of $514,536.25. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,632,089.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $384,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 96,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,532,416. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,675 shares of company stock worth $11,311,096 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Founders Capital Management increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 404.0% during the 1st quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 126 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Logan Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.