Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.31 Per Share

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 19th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of 0.3125 per share by the energy company on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from Matador Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25.

Matador Resources has raised its dividend payment by an average of 89.5% annually over the last three years. Matador Resources has a payout ratio of 11.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Matador Resources to earn $8.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 11.7%.

Matador Resources Stock Performance

MTDR stock traded down $1.20 on Wednesday, reaching $56.60. 2,257,093 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,058,954. Matador Resources has a 12 month low of $47.15 and a 12 month high of $71.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $58.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.06 billion, a PE ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 3.22. 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 (NYSE:MTDR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The energy company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by ($0.05). Matador Resources had a return on equity of 20.01% and a net margin of 27.45%. The company had revenue of $970.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $967.10 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Matador Resources will post 7.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Matador Resources news, EVP William Thomas Elsener bought 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $56.60 per share, for a total transaction of $45,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,827,762.40. This trade represents a 0.78 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Joseph Wm Foran bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $55.18 per share, for a total transaction of $110,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 42,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,331,410.18. This trade represents a 4.97 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 2,980 shares of company stock worth $165,988 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MTDR shares. 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Matador Resources in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Matador Resources in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho lowered their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Matador Resources currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.14.

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.