Analysts Set Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) PT at $75.14

Shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $74.60.

MTDR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Matador Resources from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Matador Resources from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Matador Resources in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Matador Resources in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Matador Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd.

Matador Resources Price Performance

NYSE MTDR opened at $47.03 on Friday. Matador Resources has a 52 week low of $43.89 and a 52 week high of $71.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 3.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $56.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.19.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The energy company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.88 by ($0.05). Matador Resources had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 25.26%. The firm had revenue of $970.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $967.10 million. Analysts forecast that Matador Resources will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Matador Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.3125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Matador Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Matador Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.51%.

Insider Activity at Matador Resources

In other news, COO Christopher P. Calvert acquired 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $55.17 per share, with a total value of $71,721.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 34,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,875,780. This trade represents a 3.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William Thomas Elsener acquired 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $56.60 per share, with a total value of $45,280.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,827,762.40. This trade represents a 0.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 21,530 shares of company stock worth $1,119,092. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matador Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MTDR. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Matador Resources by 262.0% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,517,308 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $85,364,000 after buying an additional 1,098,108 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Matador Resources by 145.2% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,283,743 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $72,223,000 after buying an additional 760,122 shares during the period. Webs Creek Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Matador Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $37,894,000. Yaupon Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Matador Resources by 565.4% during the 3rd quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 744,037 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $36,770,000 after buying an additional 632,218 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Matador Resources by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,698,606 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $151,824,000 after purchasing an additional 555,245 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.98% of the company’s stock.

About Matador Resources

Matador Resources Company, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, production, and acquisition of oil and natural gas resources in the United States. It operates through two segments, Exploration and Production; and Midstream. The company primarily holds interests in the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring plays in the Delaware Basin in Southeast New Mexico and West Texas.