Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) Reaches New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $62.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Matador Resources traded as low as $35.19 and last traded at $42.58, with a volume of 4463292 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.67.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on MTDR. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $77.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research raised Matador Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Matador Resources from $84.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Matador Resources in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Matador Resources has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.93.

Insider Transactions at Matador Resources

In other news, Director Paul W. Harvey bought 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $55.20 per share, with a total value of $33,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,917 shares in the company, valued at $1,541,018.40. This trade represents a 2.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Glenn W. Stetson purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $53.06 per share, for a total transaction of $53,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 91,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,864,540.80. This trade represents a 1.10 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 21,350 shares of company stock worth $1,100,769. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Matador Resources

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Matador Resources by 28.2% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,720 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matador Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $816,000. NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Matador Resources by 106,314.3% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 7,449 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 7,442 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Matador Resources by 6.5% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 328,959 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $16,806,000 after purchasing an additional 19,937 shares during the period. Finally, Delphi Management Inc. MA grew its position in Matador Resources by 118.6% in the 1st quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 23,302 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,190,000 after buying an additional 12,642 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.98% of the company’s stock.

Matador Resources Trading Up 4.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 2.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business’s 50-day moving average is $49.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.14.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The energy company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.88 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $970.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $967.10 million. Matador Resources had a net margin of 25.26% and a return on equity of 18.52%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Matador Resources will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Matador Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This is a boost from Matador Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. Matador Resources’s payout ratio is presently 17.51%.

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.