GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Makes New $1.99 Million Investment in Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 35,333 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $1,988,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Matador Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Matador Resources by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 500 shares of the energy company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Matador Resources by 108.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 492 shares of the energy company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Matador Resources by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 510 shares of the energy company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Matador Resources by 359.5% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 579 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.98% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Robert T. Macalik bought 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $47.98 per share, for a total transaction of $57,576.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,487,380. This trade represents a 4.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph Wm Foran purchased 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.63 per share, for a total transaction of $99,075.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,756 shares in the company, valued at $2,407,760.28. This trade represents a 4.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 21,850 shares of company stock worth $931,694 over the last quarter. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Matador Resources Trading Down 1.4%

MTDR traded down $0.62 on Friday, reaching $43.42. 640,789 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,625,655. Matador Resources has a twelve month low of $35.19 and a twelve month high of $66.89. The company's 50 day moving average is $43.05 and its 200-day moving average is $51.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 1.47.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The energy company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $980.87 million. Matador Resources had a net margin of 25.26% and a return on equity of 18.52%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Matador Resources will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Matador Resources declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to repurchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Matador Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Matador Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MTDR. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Matador Resources in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Matador Resources from $70.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Stephens lowered their price objective on Matador Resources from $90.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Matador Resources from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Matador Resources from $84.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.44.

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.