Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) Stock Price Down 6.3% After Analyst Downgrade

Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR)’s share price traded down 6.3% on Monday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $56.00 to $54.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Matador Resources traded as low as $47.85 and last traded at $47.5940. 1,733,343 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 6% from the average session volume of 1,838,883 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.81.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on MTDR. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Matador Resources from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Matador Resources from $61.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Matador Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Joseph Wm Foran acquired 4,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $52.36 per share, for a total transaction of $244,783.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 6,997 shares in the company, valued at $366,362.92. This trade represents a 201.34% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Glenn W. Stetson bought 500 shares of Matador Resources stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $53.41 per share, with a total value of $26,705.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 95,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,099,052.70. This represents a 0.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 11,907 shares of company stock valued at $635,712. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MTDR. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Matador Resources by 184.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 30,836 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 20,011 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in Matador Resources by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 78,035 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,312,000 after purchasing an additional 15,859 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Services increased its holdings in shares of Matador Resources by 333.7% in the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 51,356 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,180,000 after buying an additional 39,516 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Matador Resources by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,054,232 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $44,742,000 after buying an additional 21,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matador Resources during the 1st quarter worth $2,630,000. 91.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Matador Resources Trading Down 7.3%

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $52.82 and a 200 day moving average of $53.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.74.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $941.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $871.57 million. Matador Resources had a return on equity of 11.20% and a net margin of 14.41%.The company’s revenue was down 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Matador Resources Company will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Matador Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. Matador Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.56%.

Matador Resources Company Profile

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.