Scotiabank Predicts Reduced Earnings for Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) – Analysts at Scotiabank lowered their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank analyst P. Cheng now forecasts that the oil and natural gas company will post earnings per share of $16.20 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $19.75. Scotiabank has a “Sector Outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Diamondback Energy’s current full-year earnings is $16.51 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for Diamondback Energy’s FY2025 earnings at $15.20 EPS.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.62 by ($1.24). Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis.

FANG has been the topic of several other research reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $207.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $235.00 to $212.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.08.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

FANG stock opened at $177.61 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $51.86 billion, a PE ratio of 10.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $170.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.62. Diamondback Energy has a 1 year low of $147.93 and a 1 year high of $214.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.90 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 20.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $208,150.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,872. This trade represents a 19.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 48.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 146,870 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $28,008,000 after buying an additional 47,951 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 368.1% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 9,784 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 7,694 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $1,053,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 6.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,618,560 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $793,611,000 after purchasing an additional 266,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 18.5% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 42,678 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $7,358,000 after purchasing an additional 6,672 shares during 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.