Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Sees Large Volume Increase

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 1,268,688 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the previous session’s volume of 1,548,068 shares.The stock last traded at $178.96 and had previously closed at $181.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FANG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $231.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $237.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.71.

Diamondback Energy Trading Down 1.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 3.64, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $192.75 and a 200 day moving average of $195.55. The stock has a market cap of $32.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.89.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 37.51%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.68 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $2.34 per share. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous None dividend of $2.26. This represents a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 38.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,609,143 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,706,076,000 after purchasing an additional 2,381,488 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 235.6% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,730,482 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $541,844,000 after buying an additional 1,916,900 shares in the last quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the first quarter worth about $87,940,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,012,329 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $603,038,000 after acquiring an additional 415,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 280.8% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 545,202 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $109,144,000 after acquiring an additional 402,026 shares in the last quarter. 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.