Heartland Advisors Inc. Acquires 26,501 Shares of Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR)

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Matador Resources Company by 24.7%, acquiring 26,501 shares to reach a total of 133,838 shares valued at approximately $6.8 million.
• Matador Resources recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3125 per share, equating to an annualized dividend of $1.25 with a yield of 2.46%.
• Analysts have varying outlooks on Matador Resources, with an average target price of $68.27 and most ratings being positive, including two holds and one strong buy.

Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its position in Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR - Free Report) by 24.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 133,838 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,501 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 0.11% of Matador Resources worth $6,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Matador Resources by 262.0% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,517,308 shares of the energy company's stock worth $85,364,000 after buying an additional 1,098,108 shares in the last quarter. Webs Creek Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Matador Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,894,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Matador Resources by 25.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Matador Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $22,509,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Matador Resources by 101.7% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 734,626 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $41,330,000 after purchasing an additional 370,388 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.98% of the company's stock.

Matador Resources Price Performance

Shares of Matador Resources stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.44. 1,557,647 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,714,305. Matador Resources Company has a twelve month low of $35.19 and a twelve month high of $64.04. The company has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a PE ratio of 7.68 and a beta of 1.46. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $48.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The energy company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.24. Matador Resources had a net margin of 22.57% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The firm had revenue of $895.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $892.86 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Matador Resources Company will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Matador Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Matador Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.30%.

Matador Resources announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to purchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $70.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $90.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Matador Resources to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $65.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.27.

Insider Activity at Matador Resources

In related news, EVP William Thomas Elsener bought 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $40.10 per share, with a total value of $30,075.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president owned 111,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,458,999.70. The trade was a 0.68% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joseph Wm Foran bought 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.63 per share, with a total value of $99,075.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 60,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,407,760.28. The trade was a 4.29% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 8,850 shares of company stock valued at $355,273. Insiders own 5.80% 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.