Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Given New $214.00 Price Target at Raymond James

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its price target decreased by Raymond James from $245.00 to $214.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Raymond James currently has a strong-buy rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on FANG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Diamondback Energy from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $227.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Williams Trading set a $190.00 price objective on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.08.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG opened at $146.55 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $42.42 billion, a PE ratio of 8.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.36. Diamondback Energy has a fifty-two week low of $137.09 and a fifty-two week 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 25.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the director now owns 5,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $896,802.30. This represents a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,675 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 28.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 43,361 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 631.1% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 43,148 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $7,069,000 after acquiring an additional 37,246 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 48.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 47,951 shares during the period. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 38.2% in the 4th 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.