Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) Research Coverage Started at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) in a report released on Thursday. The firm issued a buy rating and a $66.00 target price on the energy company’s stock.

MTDR has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Matador Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Matador Resources from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Matador Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.93.

Matador Resources Stock Performance

Shares of MTDR opened at $61.09 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $54.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.59. Matador Resources has a 52-week low of $37.14 and a 52-week high of $66.84. The firm has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Matador Resources had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 13.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 32.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Matador Resources will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matador Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Matador Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.73%.

Insider Transactions at Matador Resources

In other Matador Resources news, EVP William Elsener purchased 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $50.94 per share, with a total value of $43,299.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 114,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,851,936.26. This represents a 0.75% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Christopher Calvert acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $56.64 per share, with a total value of $141,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,492,160. The trade was a 6.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 23,144 shares of company stock worth $1,211,793. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Matador Resources

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MTDR. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Matador Resources by 225.2% during the 2nd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 517 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matador Resources during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Matador Resources during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Matador Resources during the first quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Gilpin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matador Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 91.98% of the company’s stock.

About Matador Resources

Matador Resources Company is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production and acquisition of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company focuses primarily on unconventional, horizontal drilling and development activities in the United States.

Matador’s principal operations are concentrated in the Delaware Basin, a sub-basin of the Permian Basin in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas. Its activities include drilling and completing wells, producing hydrocarbons, and managing mineral and leasehold interests associated with its development programs.

Through its midstream operations, including San Mateo Midstream, Matador also provides gathering, processing, transportation and water-handling services that support oil and natural gas production in the Delaware Basin.