Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $204.68, but opened at $197.08. Diamondback Energy shares last traded at $200.69, with a volume of 130,513 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank upped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Diamondback Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $249.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $218.68.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $56.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 233.62 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $191.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.82.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.74 by $0.49. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 7.76%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.54 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 511.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.50, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,437 shares in the company, valued at $2,640,370.50. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.90, for a total value of $1,406,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 85,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,228,179.50. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 113,691 shares of company stock worth $21,622,752 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 274 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 19,719 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $2,822,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 14,330 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,161,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Capital Financial Group Inc. Co. ADV increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital Financial Group Inc. Co. ADV now owns 3,584 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 301 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

Diamondback Energy, Inc (NASDAQ: FANG) is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the development, exploration and production of unconventional resources in the Permian Basin. Headquartered in Midland, Texas, the company concentrates its operations in the core Midland and Delaware sub‑basins of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it pursues contiguous acreage positions to support repeatable drilling programs.

Diamondback’s activities span the upstream value chain, including leasehold acquisition, well planning, drilling, completion and production optimization.