Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) Trading Up 3.9% – Still a Buy?

Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR)’s share price shot up 3.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $59.13 and last traded at $59.2740. 715,989 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 1,925,003 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Matador Resources from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $53.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Matador Resources in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.31.

Matador Resources Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $48.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.57 and a beta of 1.07.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The energy company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.16. Matador Resources had a return on equity of 12.36% and a net margin of 20.54%.The firm had revenue of $847.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Matador Resources Company will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matador Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Matador Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Matador Resources by 179.6% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,869 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843 shares during the period. MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in shares of Matador Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $214,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Matador Resources by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 594,849 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $25,245,000 after purchasing an additional 187,178 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Matador Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $340,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Matador Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $165,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.98% of the company’s stock.

About Matador Resources

Matador Resources Company is an independent energy firm primarily engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and natural gas. The company focuses on upstream operations, utilizing horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques to unlock hydrocarbons from key reservoirs. Its asset base includes both operated and non‐operated positions, with a particular emphasis on the Permian Basin, one of the most prolific oil-producing regions in North America.

Matador’s core operations are concentrated in the Delaware Basin segment of the Permian Basin, where it holds substantial acreage in both Reeves and Culberson counties in West Texas and Eddy and Lea counties in New Mexico.