Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) in a research note released on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $78.00 price target on the energy company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on MTDR. Wolfe Research upgraded Matador Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Matador Resources in a research note on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Matador Resources from $77.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.79.

Matador Resources Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of MTDR stock opened at $61.40 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 3.24. Matador Resources has a fifty-two week low of $47.15 and a fifty-two week high of $71.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The energy company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.11. Matador Resources had a net margin of 27.45% and a return on equity of 20.01%. The company had revenue of $770.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $836.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.86 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Matador Resources will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matador Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from Matador Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Matador Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Joseph Wm Foran acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $55.18 per share, with a total value of $110,360.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 42,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,331,410.18. The trade was a 4.97 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Glenn W. Stetson bought 1,000 shares of Matador Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $51.33 per share, with a total value of $51,330.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 85,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,411,043.55. The trade was a 1.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 4,285 shares of company stock worth $232,849 in the last three months. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matador Resources

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. ClearAlpha Technologies LP grew its stake in Matador Resources by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. ClearAlpha Technologies LP now owns 5,250 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Matador Resources by 47.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 779 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Matador Resources by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 7,086 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in Matador Resources by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 6,814 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Matador Resources by 20.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,751 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.98% of the company’s stock.

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.