Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) Short Interest Up 25.7% in March

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,970,000 shares, an increase of 25.7% from the February 28th total of 6,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.9 days. Currently, 6.9% of the company's stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MTDR shares. Raymond James decreased their target price on Matador Resources from $77.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Matador Resources from $84.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Matador Resources from $76.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Matador Resources in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Matador Resources has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.79.

Remove Ads

Matador Resources Trading Down 14.3 %

Matador Resources stock traded down $6.37 during trading on Friday, reaching $38.21. 5,566,682 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,512,176. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $52.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.78. The company has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 3.17. Matador Resources has a 52-week low of $37.98 and a 52-week high of $71.08.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 25.26% and a return on equity of 18.52%. The firm had revenue of $970.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $967.10 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Matador Resources will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matador Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.3125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 yield of 3.27%. Matador Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paul W. Harvey bought 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $55.20 per share, with a total value of $33,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,541,018.40. This trade represents a 2.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph Wm Foran acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $53.94 per share, with a total value of $323,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,124,103.26. This trade represents a 17.98 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 21,350 shares of company stock worth $1,100,769. Insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matador Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Matador Resources by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,555,553 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $706,375,000 after acquiring an additional 187,633 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Matador Resources by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,444,723 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $306,313,000 after purchasing an additional 30,184 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Matador Resources by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,698,606 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $151,824,000 after purchasing an additional 555,245 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Matador Resources by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,008,730 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $99,297,000 after purchasing an additional 36,921 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Matador Resources by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,669,957 shares of the energy company's stock worth $93,952,000 after purchasing an additional 258,958 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.98% of the company's stock.

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.