Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Stock Rating Lowered by Johnson Rice

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) was downgraded by analysts at Johnson Rice from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $237.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays upped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Diamondback Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.71.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 2.6 %

FANG stock opened at $180.53 on Tuesday. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.81. The stock has a market cap of $32.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.89. Diamondback Energy has a fifty-two week low of $143.08 and a fifty-two week high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.51 by $0.01. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 37.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy will post 18.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,037,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $181,732,485.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 38.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,381,488 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 235.6% during the first 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. Homestead Advisers Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $87,940,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in 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 valued at $109,144,000 after purchasing an additional 402,026 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.