Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Investors bought 31,693 call options on Matador Resources, nearly 29 times the typical volume of 1,064 contracts, signaling heightened bullish speculation.
• Insider and institutional support: Company insiders purchased 23,144 shares worth $1.21 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 91.98% of the stock.
• Positive analyst outlook and strong results: Analysts give MTDR a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $66.47 target price. The company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while shares traded at $61.19.

Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 31,693 call options on the company. This is an increase of 2,879% compared to the typical volume of 1,064 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Christopher Calvert purchased 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $56.64 per share, with a total value of $141,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,492,160. This represents a 6.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP William Elsener purchased 850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $50.94 per share, for a total transaction of $43,299.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 114,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,851,936.26. This trade represents a 0.75% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 23,144 shares of company stock worth $1,211,793. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Matador Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MTDR. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Matador Resources by 80.2% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,285 shares of the energy company's stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 8,581 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matador Resources during the second quarter worth $305,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its position in shares of Matador Resources by 195.0% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 14,179 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 9,373 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Matador Resources in the second quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Matador Resources by 62.2% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,215 shares of the energy company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTDR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Matador Resources in a research note on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Matador Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Matador Resources to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Matador Resources from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Matador Resources from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.47.

Matador Resources Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of MTDR traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $61.19. 2,284,548 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,895,580. The company has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a PE ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average of $54.02 and a 200 day moving average of $55.62. Matador Resources has a 1-year low of $37.14 and a 1-year high of $66.84.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.53. Matador Resources had a return on equity of 13.18% and a net margin of 19.85%.The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 32.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Matador Resources will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Matador Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Matador Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.73%.

About Matador Resources

Matador Resources Company is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production and acquisition of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company focuses primarily on unconventional, horizontal drilling and development activities in the United States.

Matador's principal operations are concentrated in the Delaware Basin, a sub-basin of the Permian Basin in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas. Its activities include drilling and completing wells, producing hydrocarbons, and managing mineral and leasehold interests associated with its development programs.

Through its midstream operations, including San Mateo Midstream, Matador also provides gathering, processing, transportation and water-handling services that support oil and natural gas production in the Delaware Basin.

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