First Eagle Investment Management LLC Purchases 14,550 Shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 325,335 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,550 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Matador Resources were worth $18,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MTDR. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 valued at $72,223,000 after purchasing an additional 760,122 shares in the last quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP raised its position in Matador Resources by 565.4% during the third quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 744,037 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $36,770,000 after purchasing an additional 632,218 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Matador Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $22,509,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in Matador Resources by 57.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 349,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Matador Resources by 162.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 478,795 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $23,662,000 after buying an additional 296,663 shares during the last quarter. 91.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Matador Resources from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Matador Resources from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Matador Resources in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho cut their target price on Matador Resources from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Matador Resources from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Matador Resources currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.20.

Matador Resources Stock Performance

Matador Resources stock opened at $46.94 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.15. Matador Resources has a fifty-two week low of $43.89 and a fifty-two week high of $71.08. The stock has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.57 and a beta of 3.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.93.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.88 by ($0.05). Matador Resources had a net margin of 25.26% and a return on equity of 18.52%. The business had revenue of $970.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $967.10 million. As a group, analysts expect that Matador Resources will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matador Resources Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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 bought at an average cost of $55.17 per share, for a total transaction of $71,721.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,875,780. The trade was a 3.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul W. Harvey acquired 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $55.20 per share, with a total value of $33,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 27,917 shares in the company, valued at $1,541,018.40. The trade was a 2.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 20,850 shares of company stock worth $1,077,024. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Matador Resources Company 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.