Castleark Management LLC Cuts Stake in Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR)

Castleark Management LLC lowered its position in Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Free Report) by 78.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,350 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 99,700 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC's holdings in Matador Resources were worth $1,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in shares of Matador Resources by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 455,662 shares of the energy company's stock worth $22,519,000 after purchasing an additional 65,487 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Matador Resources during the third quarter worth about $10,526,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in Matador Resources by 25.5% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 73,025 shares of the energy company's stock worth $4,352,000 after buying an additional 14,850 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Matador Resources by 4.2% in 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, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its position in shares of Matador Resources by 194.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 16,534 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $817,000 after acquiring an additional 10,910 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTDR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens upped their price target on Matador Resources from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Matador Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Matador Resources from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Matador Resources from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $89.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.08.

Matador Resources Trading Down 4.8 %

MTDR stock traded down $2.80 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $55.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,449,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,110,516. Matador Resources has a 12-month low of $47.15 and a 12-month high of $71.08. The firm has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 7.32 and a beta of 3.26. The company's 50-day moving average price is $55.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.49. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The energy company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $836.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.86 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Matador Resources will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matador Resources Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Matador Resources

In other news, Director Robert Gaines Baty acquired 500 shares of Matador Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $50.58 per share, with a total value of $25,290.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 67,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,420,067.86. This trade represents a 0.74 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Joseph Wm Foran bought 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $49.97 per share, with a total value of $124,925.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 40,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,011,342.47. This trade represents a 6.62 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 5,605 shares of company stock worth $282,406 in the last three months. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Matador Resources 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.