First Trust Advisors LP Buys 44,628 Shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 708,910 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 44,628 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Matador Resources were worth $39,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Matador Resources by 12.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,008,421 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $54,122,000 after acquiring an additional 107,827 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Matador Resources by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 139,254 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $8,088,000 after purchasing an additional 20,172 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Matador Resources by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,491,570 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $83,916,000 after buying an additional 56,644 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Matador Resources by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 300,301 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $16,895,000 after buying an additional 99,711 shares during the period. Finally, Shaker Investments LLC OH bought a new stake in shares of Matador Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $546,000. 91.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MTDR. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $90.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Matador Resources from $70.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group started coverage on Matador Resources in a report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Matador Resources from $65.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $77.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.73.

Matador Resources Stock Performance

MTDR opened at $40.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 2.74. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $46.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.45. Matador Resources has a 1 year low of $35.19 and a 1 year high of $66.89.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The energy company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $980.87 million. Matador Resources had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 25.26%. Equities analysts expect that Matador Resources will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matador Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Matador Resources’s payout ratio is 17.51%.

Matador Resources announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the energy company to repurchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Matador Resources

In related news, insider Van H. Singleton II purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $53.21 per share, for a total transaction of $106,420.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 289,135 shares in the company, valued at $15,384,873.35. This trade represents a 0.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul W. Harvey acquired 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $55.20 per share, for a total transaction of $33,120.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 27,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,541,018.40. This represents a 2.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 21,350 shares of company stock valued at $1,100,769. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Matador Resources Company Profile

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.