Scotiabank Initiates Coverage on Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR)

Key Points

• Scotiabank initiated coverage of Matador Resources with a “sector perform” rating and a $59 price target, implying approximately 6.9% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Matador has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $66.62, though recommendations range from “strong buy” to “hold.”
• Matador recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.61 in EPS versus the $2.08 estimate and $1.17 billion in revenue, up 32.5% year over year; insiders also purchased more than $1.2 million of company stock over the past 90 days.

Equities research analysts at Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Thursday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage set a "sector perform" rating and a $59.00 price target on the energy company's stock. Scotiabank's price target points to a potential upside of 6.92% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Mizuho upgraded Matador Resources to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Matador Resources from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Roth Capital upgraded Matador Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on shares of Matador Resources in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Matador Resources from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.62.

Matador Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Matador Resources stock opened at $55.18 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $55.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.65. Matador Resources has a 1 year low of $37.14 and a 1 year high of $66.84.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Matador Resources had a return on equity of 13.18% and a net margin of 19.85%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 32.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Matador Resources will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP William Elsener purchased 850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $50.94 per share, for a total transaction of $43,299.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 114,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,851,936.26. This trade represents a 0.75% 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, CEO Joseph Foran purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $52.16 per share, for a total transaction of $521,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 25,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,336,182.72. The trade was a 64.03% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 23,144 shares of company stock valued at $1,211,793. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matador Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Matador Resources by 16.1% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,270 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its position in shares of Matador Resources by 36.7% during the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 748 shares of the energy company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Burford Brothers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Matador Resources by 0.8% during the first quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 26,798 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,693,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Matador Resources by 4.4% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the energy company's stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Finally, Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Matador Resources by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 23,240 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,468,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. 91.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Matador Resources

Matador Resources Company is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production and acquisition of oil and natural gas properties. Its operations are focused primarily on unconventional, or shale, formations, with oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids among its principal products.

The company's main exploration and production activities are concentrated in the Delaware Basin, part of the Permian Basin in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas. Matador has also historically held interests in other U.S.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.