Morgan Stanley Begins Coverage on Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR)

Stock analysts at Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price target on the energy company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 30.17% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MTDR. Stephens increased their price objective on Matador Resources from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Matador Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Matador Resources from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.79.

Matador Resources Stock Up 0.3 %

MTDR stock opened at $59.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a PE ratio of 7.94 and a beta of 3.24. Matador Resources has a 52 week low of $47.15 and a 52 week high of $71.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $56.96 and a 200 day moving average of $56.02.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The energy company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.11. Matador Resources had a net margin of 27.45% and a return on equity of 20.01%. The business had revenue of $770.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $836.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Matador Resources will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Matador Resources

In other news, EVP Glenn W. Stetson acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $51.33 per share, for a total transaction of $51,330.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 85,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,411,043.55. This represents a 1.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Thomas Elsener bought 800 shares of Matador Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $56.60 per share, with a total value of $45,280.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,827,762.40. The trade was a 0.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 4,285 shares of company stock valued at $232,849 in the last three months. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matador Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTDR. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new position in shares of Matador Resources in the third quarter worth about $51,788,000. Yaupon Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Matador Resources by 565.4% in the 3rd quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 744,037 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $36,770,000 after acquiring an additional 632,218 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Matador Resources by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,734,819 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $282,196,000 after purchasing an additional 356,506 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Matador Resources by 162.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 478,795 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $23,662,000 after purchasing an additional 296,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Matador Resources by 10.5% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,250,036 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $134,102,000 after purchasing an additional 214,334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.98% of the company’s stock.

About Matador Resources

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.