Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Short Interest Update

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,900,000 shares, an increase of 12.8% from the May 31st total of 5,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,440,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FANG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $243.00 price objective for the company. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $214.00 price target for the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.35.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG traded up $3.31 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $203.50. 745,845 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,636,975. The stock has a market cap of $36.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.90. Diamondback Energy has a 1 year low of $125.73 and a 1 year high of $211.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by $0.21. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 36.71%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy will post 19.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 20.29%.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In related news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total value of $179,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,516,241.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total value of $179,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,585 shares in the company, valued at $1,516,241.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $6,000,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 446,610 shares in the company, valued at $89,322,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,900 shares of company stock worth $7,362,750. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. Founders Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 404.0% during the 1st quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 126 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Logan Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.