Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) Shares Down 4.6% – Here’s Why

Shares of Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR) were down 4.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $60.22 and last traded at $60.2760. 82,406 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 96% from the average session volume of 1,886,850 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MTDR. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Matador Resources in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research lowered Matador Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Matador Resources from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on Matador Resources in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Matador Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.80.

Matador Resources Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $54.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.79.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Matador Resources had a net margin of 19.85% and a return on equity of 13.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Matador Resources Company will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Matador Resources Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP William Elsener bought 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 114,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,851,936.26. This trade represents a 0.75% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph Foran bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $52.16 per share, with a total value of $521,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 25,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,336,182.72. This trade represents a 64.03% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought 23,144 shares of company stock worth $1,211,793 in the last ninety days. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matador Resources

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MTDR. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Matador Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $573,936,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Matador Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,249,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Matador Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $56,161,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Matador Resources in the second quarter worth $42,184,000. Finally, Value Holdings Management CO. LLC purchased a new position in Matador Resources in the second quarter worth $41,532,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.98% of the company’s stock.

Matador Resources Company Profile

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.