Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 85,656 Shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Free Report) by 72.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,963 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 85,656 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Matador Resources were worth $1,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Matador Resources by 16.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 190,035 shares of the energy company's stock worth $9,391,000 after acquiring an additional 26,289 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Matador Resources by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,118 shares of the energy company's stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Matador Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $251,000. Spring Capital Management LLC grew its position in Matador Resources by 89.5% during the 4th quarter. Spring Capital Management LLC now owns 50,827 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,860,000 after purchasing an additional 24,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Value Holdings Management CO. LLC raised its stake in Matador Resources by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Value Holdings Management CO. LLC now owns 684,008 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $38,483,000 after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTDR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their price target on Matador Resources from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Stephens lowered their target price on Matador Resources from $90.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Matador Resources in a research report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Matador Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $65.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Matador Resources has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.44.

Matador Resources Stock Performance

MTDR traded down $0.04 on Tuesday, hitting $44.25. 1,394,936 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,629,305. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $44.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a PE ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 1.47. Matador Resources has a 52 week low of $35.19 and a 52 week high of $66.89.

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

Matador Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Matador Resources's dividend payout ratio is 16.78%.

Matador Resources declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy company to purchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matador Resources

In other news, CEO Joseph Wm Foran purchased 6,000 shares of Matador Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $53.94 per share, for a total transaction of $323,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,124,103.26. This represents a 17.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Van H. Singleton II bought 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $53.21 per share, with a total value of $106,420.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 289,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,384,873.35. The trade was a 0.70% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 36,200 shares of company stock valued at $1,701,872. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.