UBS Group Lowers Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target to $245.00

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at UBS Group from $257.00 to $245.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 24.80% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on FANG. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $243.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $154.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.25.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Diamondback Energy stock traded down $4.97 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $196.32. 321,742 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,561,744. Diamondback Energy has a 12-month low of $143.08 and a 12-month high of $214.50. The company has a market capitalization of $35.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.90. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $198.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $191.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 36.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.68 EPS. Analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy will post 18.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total value of $1,182,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 69,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,736,123.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,869,787 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $3,391,567,000 after acquiring an additional 176,208 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 38.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,381,488 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased 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 valued at $603,038,000 after purchasing an additional 415,902 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 235.6% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,690,181 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $538,547,000 after buying an additional 247,065 shares during 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.