Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $137.09 and last traded at $138.47, with a volume of 542036 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $140.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FANG has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.00.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 2.9 %

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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $163.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.54. The firm has a market cap of $41.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.84.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 25.32%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FANG. Demars Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $638,050,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $298,327,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth $185,193,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 1,153.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,132,918 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $185,606,000 after buying an additional 1,042,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,136,645 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,496,859,000 after purchasing an additional 928,429 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently 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.