Insider Buying: Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) COO Acquires 1,300 Shares of Stock

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) COO Christopher P. Calvert acquired 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $55.17 per share, for a total transaction of $71,721.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,875,780. This represents a 3.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Matador Resources Stock Performance

MTDR opened at $52.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 3.22. Matador Resources has a 1-year low of $47.15 and a 1-year high of $71.08. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

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

Matador Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.3125 dividend. This is a positive change from Matador Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Matador Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matador Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MTDR. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Matador Resources by 262.0% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,517,308 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $85,364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098,108 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new position in shares of Matador Resources during the third quarter worth $51,788,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Matador Resources by 145.2% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,283,743 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $72,223,000 after acquiring an additional 760,122 shares during the last quarter. Webs Creek Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Matador Resources during the fourth quarter worth $37,894,000. Finally, Yaupon Capital Management LP boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 632,218 shares during the last quarter. 91.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MTDR shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Matador Resources in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Matador Resources from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Matador Resources from $77.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Matador Resources in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Matador Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.14.

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.