Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 107,493 Shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 596,233 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 107,493 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.48% of Matador Resources worth $33,544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MTDR. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new position in shares of Matador Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,788,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Matador Resources by 145.2% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,283,743 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $72,223,000 after buying an additional 760,122 shares during the period. Yaupon Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Matador Resources by 565.4% during the 3rd quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 744,037 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $36,770,000 after buying an additional 632,218 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Matador Resources by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 959,795 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $53,998,000 after buying an additional 349,820 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 296,663 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.98% of the company’s stock.

Matador Resources Stock Down 6.0 %

NYSE MTDR opened at $53.10 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $58.17 and a 200-day moving average of $55.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.44 and a beta of 3.22. Matador Resources has a 52 week low of $47.15 and a 52 week high of $71.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The energy company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by ($0.05). Matador Resources had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 25.26%. The company had revenue of $970.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.10 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Matador Resources will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Matador Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.3125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from Matador Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Matador Resources’s payout ratio is 14.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MTDR. Wolfe Research upgraded Matador Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Matador Resources from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Matador Resources in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Matador Resources from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Matador Resources from $77.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Matador Resources news, CEO Joseph Wm Foran bought 2,000 shares of Matador Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $55.18 per share, for a total transaction of $110,360.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 42,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,331,410.18. The trade was a 4.97 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William Thomas Elsener bought 800 shares of Matador Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $56.60 per share, for a total transaction of $45,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 102,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,827,762.40. This represents a 0.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 2,980 shares of company stock valued at $165,988 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.10% 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.