Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $1.91 Million in Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired 37,417 shares of Matador Resources, valued at approximately $1.9 million, marking a new stake during the first quarter.
• Matador Resources reported a 12-month low of $35.19 and a 12-month high of $64.04, with a market capitalization of $5.95 billion.
• The company has initiated a share buyback program of $400 million, allowing it to repurchase up to 7.8% of its stock, which suggests management believes the stock is undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 37,417 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $1,912,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Matador Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,819,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Matador Resources by 35.6% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,858 shares of the energy company's stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in Matador Resources in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $403,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Matador Resources in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $471,000. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp boosted its position in Matador Resources by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 61,077 shares of the energy company's stock worth $3,120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. 91.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTDR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Matador Resources from $70.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Matador Resources from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Matador Resources from $65.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $90.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matador Resources

In related news, CEO Joseph Wm Foran acquired 5,000 shares of Matador Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $49.17 per share, for a total transaction of $245,850.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $324,817.02. This trade represents a 311.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 5.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Matador Resources Stock Up 0.3%

MTDR stock traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.81. The company had a trading volume of 2,388,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,959,772. Matador Resources Company has a fifty-two week low of $35.19 and a fifty-two week high of $64.04. The company has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.85.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The energy company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $895.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $892.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Matador Resources Company will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matador Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.3125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Matador Resources's dividend payout ratio is 18.30%.

Matador Resources announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the energy company to purchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Matador Resources 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.