Heartland Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Matador Resources Company $MTDR

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors cut its Matador Resources stake by 27.5% in the first quarter, selling 57,896 shares and ending with 152,283 shares valued at about $9.6 million.
• Insiders were buying: CEO Joseph Wm Foran and COO Glenn W. Stetson both added shares recently, and insiders bought a total of 11,907 shares worth $635,712 over the last 90 days.
• Matador reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $1.53 per share and revenue of $941.6 million, and it also pays a 2.8% dividend yield with a quarterly payout of $0.375 per share.

Heartland Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR - Free Report) by 27.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 152,283 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 57,896 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 0.12% of Matador Resources worth $9,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MTDR. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Matador Resources by 225.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 517 shares of the energy company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Matador Resources in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Matador Resources during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Matador Resources during the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Gilpin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Matador Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. 91.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Joseph Wm Foran purchased 4,675 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $52.36 per share, for a total transaction of $244,783.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,997 shares in the company, valued at $366,362.92. The trade was a 201.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Glenn W. Stetson acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $53.41 per share, with a total value of $26,705.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 95,470 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,099,052.70. This represents a 0.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased a total of 11,907 shares of company stock worth $635,712 in the last 90 days. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Matador Resources Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:MTDR opened at $53.81 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $53.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Matador Resources Company has a 12 month low of $37.14 and a 12 month high of $66.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a PE ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.74.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.29. Matador Resources had a return on equity of 11.20% and a net margin of 14.41%.The company had revenue of $941.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $871.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.99 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Matador Resources Company will post 6.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matador Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Matador Resources's payout ratio is 38.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTDR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Matador Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $61.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Matador Resources currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.08.

Matador Resources Company Profile

Matador Resources Company is an independent energy firm primarily engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and natural gas. The company focuses on upstream operations, utilizing horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques to unlock hydrocarbons from key reservoirs. Its asset base includes both operated and non‐operated positions, with a particular emphasis on the Permian Basin, one of the most prolific oil-producing regions in North America.

Matador's core operations are concentrated in the Delaware Basin segment of the Permian Basin, where it holds substantial acreage in both Reeves and Culberson counties in West Texas and Eddy and Lea counties in New Mexico.

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