Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MTDR. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Matador Resources in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Matador Resources from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Mizuho upgraded Matador Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Matador Resources from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Matador Resources has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.80.

Matador Resources Price Performance

Shares of MTDR opened at $51.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 0.79. Matador Resources has a 1 year low of $37.14 and a 1 year high of $66.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $54.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.61 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. Matador Resources had a return on equity of 13.18% and a net margin of 19.85%.Matador Resources’s revenue was up 32.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Matador Resources will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Matador Resources

In related news, EVP William Elsener acquired 850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $50.94 per share, with a total value of $43,299.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 114,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,851,936.26. The trade was a 0.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joseph Foran acquired 555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $54.49 per share, for a total transaction of $30,241.95. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 4,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $260,026.28. This trade represents a 13.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased 23,144 shares of company stock valued at $1,211,793 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Matador Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MTDR. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Matador Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $573,936,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Matador Resources by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,948,104 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $439,010,000 after acquiring an additional 277,839 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Matador Resources by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,236,457 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $94,942,000 after acquiring an additional 18,729 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Matador Resources by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,777,883 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $75,453,000 after acquiring an additional 5,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Matador Resources by 103.3% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,595,415 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $100,798,000 after acquiring an additional 810,808 shares during the last quarter. 91.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.