Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) Position Reduced by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 98,698 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 3,052 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.08% of Matador Resources worth $4,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted 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 during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Matador Resources by 2.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,752,102 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $136,009,000 after purchasing an additional 72,077 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted 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 worth $134,102,000 after buying an additional 214,334 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Matador Resources by 4.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,434,926 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $70,914,000 after buying an additional 57,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in Matador Resources during the third quarter valued at $51,788,000. 91.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MTDR. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Matador Resources in a report on Friday. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $77.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Matador Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Matador Resources from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Matador Resources has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Joseph Wm Foran bought 2,500 shares of Matador Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $49.97 per share, for a total transaction of $124,925.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 40,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,011,342.47. This represents a 6.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Gaines Baty bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $50.58 per share, for a total transaction of $25,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 67,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,420,067.86. This represents a 0.74 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 5,605 shares of company stock valued at $282,406. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Matador Resources Stock Performance

Shares of MTDR opened at $55.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 7.33 and a beta of 3.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Matador Resources has a one year low of $47.15 and a one year high of $71.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $55.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.53.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.11. Matador Resources had a return on equity of 20.01% and a net margin of 27.45%. The business had revenue of $770.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $836.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Matador Resources will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Matador Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Matador Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Matador Resources’s payout ratio is 13.25%.

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.