James Investment Research Inc. Sells 5,028 Shares of Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR)

James Investment Research Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR) by 8.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 55,957 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 5,028 shares during the period. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in Matador Resources were worth $2,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MTDR. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Matador Resources by 262.0% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,517,308 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $85,364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098,108 shares in the last quarter. Webs Creek Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Matador Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $37,894,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Matador Resources by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,698,606 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $151,824,000 after acquiring an additional 555,245 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Matador Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $22,509,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Matador Resources by 101.7% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 734,626 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $41,330,000 after acquiring an additional 370,388 shares during the period. 91.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP William Thomas Elsener bought 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $40.10 per share, with a total value of $30,075.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 111,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,458,999.70. The trade was a 0.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Glenn W. Stetson acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $41.53 per share, for a total transaction of $41,530.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 93,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,869,765.40. This trade represents a 1.08% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 14,850 shares of company stock valued at $601,103 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Matador Resources Trading Down 1.9%

Matador Resources stock opened at $50.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $47.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.79. Matador Resources Company has a one year low of $35.19 and a one year high of $66.89. The stock has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a PE ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 1.46.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The energy company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.25. Matador Resources had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 24.97%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $980.87 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 28.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Matador Resources Company will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Matador Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Matador Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MTDR. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Matador Resources from $72.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Matador Resources from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 16th. UBS Group began coverage on Matador Resources in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen raised Matador Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Matador Resources from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.06.

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.