Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) was the target of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,390,000 shares, an increase of 23.6% from the October 31st total of 5,170,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on FANG. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $225.00 to $216.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised shares of Diamondback Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $216.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $240.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.00.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FANG opened at $177.59 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $181.95 and its 200-day moving average is $189.82. Diamondback Energy has a 52-week low of $145.70 and a 52-week high of $214.50. The company has a market cap of $51.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.89.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by ($1.24). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. Diamondback Energy’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.49 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 16.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 20.61%.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total transaction 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 $181,732,485.09. The trade was a 92.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $208,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $852,872. This trade represents a 19.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 809 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 67.1% during the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 137 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,907 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 0.3% during the second quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,975 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $3,999,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 16.1% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 412 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

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.