779,431 Shares in Matador Resources Company $MTDR Acquired by Encompass Capital Advisors LLC

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 779,431 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,194,000. Matador Resources accounts for 1.4% of Encompass Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Matador Resources by 298.5% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 534 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Matador Resources by 93.0% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 554 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Matador Resources by 182.0% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 564 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Matador Resources during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in Matador Resources by 70.8% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 859 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the period. 91.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho raised their price target on Matador Resources from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Matador Resources from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Matador Resources in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Matador Resources from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Matador Resources presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.33.

Matador Resources Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE MTDR opened at $44.32 on Friday. Matador Resources Company has a 52 week low of $35.19 and a 52 week high of $64.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $41.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.08 and a beta of 1.11.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The energy company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $939.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $893.22 million. Matador Resources had a net margin of 20.46% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Matador Resources Company will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matador Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This is an increase from Matador Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Matador Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Robert T. Macalik bought 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $38.25 per share, for a total transaction of $57,375.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 35,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,340,241.75. The trade was a 4.47% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joseph Wm Foran purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $38.14 per share, with a total value of $38,140.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 23,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $910,287.38. This represents a 4.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 37,346 shares of company stock worth $1,463,396. 5.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.