Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Purchases 13,040 Shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Free Report) by 114.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,412 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,040 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.'s holdings in Matador Resources were worth $1,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Matador Resources by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,555,553 shares of the energy company's stock worth $706,375,000 after acquiring an additional 187,633 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Matador Resources by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,444,723 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $306,313,000 after buying an additional 30,184 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Matador Resources by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,698,606 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $151,824,000 after buying an additional 555,245 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Matador Resources by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,669,957 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $93,952,000 after buying an additional 258,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted 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 valued at $85,364,000 after buying an additional 1,098,108 shares during the last quarter. 91.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MTDR. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Matador Resources from $77.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group began coverage on Matador Resources in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Matador Resources from $72.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Matador Resources from $70.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Matador Resources from $86.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul W. Harvey purchased 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $55.20 per share, for a total transaction of $33,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 27,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,541,018.40. This trade represents a 2.20% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Robert T. Macalik purchased 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $47.98 per share, for a total transaction of $57,576.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,487,380. This represents a 4.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 36,200 shares of company stock worth $1,701,872. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Matador Resources Trading Down 1.4%

MTDR stock traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $42.93. 304,885 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,624,728. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $44.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 1.47. Matador Resources has a one year low of $35.19 and a one year high of $66.89.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The energy company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $980.87 million. Matador Resources had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 25.26%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 28.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.71 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Matador Resources will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matador Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.3125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Matador Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.78%.

Matador Resources announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the energy company to repurchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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.