Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Price Target Cut to $166.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its price target decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $167.00 to $166.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 35.06% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on FANG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Diamondback Energy from a “reduce” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $157.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.25.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 8.9 %

FANG traded down $12.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $122.91. The stock had a trading volume of 954,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,036,400. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $35.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $151.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.07. Diamondback Energy has a one year low of $114.00 and a one year high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. As a group, analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,802.30. This represents a 53.62 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,675 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 198,283 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $32,485,000 after buying an additional 43,361 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 631.1% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 43,148 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $7,069,000 after acquiring an additional 37,246 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 48.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 146,870 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $28,008,000 after acquiring an additional 47,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 38.2% in the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 31,467 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $5,155,000 after purchasing an additional 8,704 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.