Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell 14.6% in April, declining to 8,285,747 shares (about 7.1% of shares sold short) and a short-interest ratio of 4.9 days based on average daily volume.
• Institutional investors own roughly 91.98% of the stock, with several funds boosting or initiating positions in Q1 (notably Hodges Capital, Kestra and Oregon PERS), indicating strong institutional backing.
• Analysts have an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $62.62 target (several firms raised targets to the $63–$77 range), and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share (annual $1.50, ~2.4% yield; ex-dividend May 8).

Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 8,285,747 shares, a drop of 14.6% from the March 31st total of 9,701,569 shares. Approximately 7.1% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,674,105 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matador Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Matador Resources by 33.4% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,720 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 2,184 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in Matador Resources by 2.6% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 23,938 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,512,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Matador Resources by 11.2% in the first quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 607,264 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $38,367,000 after purchasing an additional 61,050 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Matador Resources in the first quarter valued at $358,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Matador Resources in the first quarter valued at $27,000. 91.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $62.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.62.

Matador Resources Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:MTDR traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $62.34. 1,081,140 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,896,308. Matador Resources has a fifty-two week low of $37.14 and a fifty-two week high of $66.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.16. The firm has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a PE ratio of 10.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The energy company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.16. Matador Resources had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 12.36%. The business had revenue of $809.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.13 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Matador Resources will post 7.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Matador Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Matador Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.59%.

About Matador Resources

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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