Corebridge Financial Inc. Decreases Stake in Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR)

Corebridge Financial Inc. cut its stake in shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 131,414 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 5,970 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Matador Resources were worth $7,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Matador Resources by 145.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 760,122 shares during the last quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Matador Resources by 565.4% during the third quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 744,037 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $36,770,000 after purchasing an additional 632,218 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Matador Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $22,509,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in Matador Resources by 57.3% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 959,795 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $53,998,000 after buying an additional 349,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Matador Resources by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,286,444 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $72,375,000 after buying an additional 302,221 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.98% of the company’s stock.

Matador Resources Stock Performance

Shares of MTDR stock opened at $50.46 on Friday. Matador Resources has a 52-week low of $43.89 and a 52-week high of $71.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $54.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a PE ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 3.17.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The energy company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by ($0.05). Matador Resources had a net margin of 25.26% and a return on equity of 18.52%. The company had revenue of $970.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.10 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Matador Resources will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Matador Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from Matador Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Matador Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTDR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Matador Resources in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Matador Resources from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $77.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Matador Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Matador Resources in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.79.

Insider Activity

In other Matador Resources news, Director Paul W. Harvey purchased 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $55.20 per share, for a total transaction of $33,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,541,018.40. This trade represents a 2.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph Wm Foran acquired 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $53.94 per share, with a total value of $323,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 39,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,124,103.26. This represents a 17.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 21,350 shares of company stock valued at $1,100,769 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Matador Resources Profile

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.