South Dakota Investment Council Lowers Holdings in Matador Resources Company $MTDR

Key Points

• South Dakota Investment Council reduced its Matador Resources stake by 6.8% in the first quarter, selling 21,563 shares and retaining 294,267 shares valued at approximately $18.6 million.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 12 Buy ratings and five Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $66 price target.
• Matador beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.375, or $1.50 annually, yielding about 3.1%.

South Dakota Investment Council decreased its position in Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR - Free Report) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 294,267 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 21,563 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council owned approximately 0.24% of Matador Resources worth $18,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Matador Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Matador Resources from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Stephens lifted their target price on Matador Resources from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho boosted their price target on Matador Resources from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Matador Resources from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.00.

Matador Resources Stock Performance

Shares of MTDR stock opened at $48.87 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $52.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.41. Matador Resources Company has a 52 week low of $37.14 and a 52 week high of $66.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $941.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $871.57 million. Matador Resources had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 11.20%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Matador Resources Company will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Matador Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. Matador Resources's payout ratio is 38.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matador Resources

In related news, COO Glenn W. Stetson bought 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $53.41 per share, for a total transaction of $26,705.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 95,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,099,052.70. This represents a 0.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Christopher P. Calvert purchased 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $53.24 per share, for a total transaction of $79,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 41,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,209,460. The trade was a 3.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 11,907 shares of company stock worth $635,712. Insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

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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