Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) Stock Jumps 4.5% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Matador Resources shares rose 4.5% after Morgan Stanley lifted its price target from $66 to $69, while maintaining an equal-weight rating. The stock reached $56.13, below the analyst consensus target of $66.81.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with one Strong Buy, twelve Buy and five Hold ratings, resulting in a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating.
• Matador reported quarterly earnings of $2.61 per share, beating estimates by $0.53, while revenue increased 32.5% year over year to $1.17 billion. The company also declared a $0.375 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 2.7% annual yield.

Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR - Get Free Report) shares shot up 4.5% during mid-day trading on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $66.00 to $69.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Matador Resources traded as high as $56.13 and last traded at $56.1760. 427,028 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 1,849,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.77.

MTDR has been the subject of several other reports. Roth Capital raised Matador Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Matador Resources from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Matador Resources in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Matador Resources from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Matador Resources from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Christopher Calvert acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $56.64 per share, for a total transaction of $141,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,492,160. This trade represents a 6.02% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Elsener acquired 850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $50.94 per share, with a total value 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. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased 23,144 shares of company stock valued at $1,211,793 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matador Resources

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Matador Resources in the second quarter valued at about $573,936,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Matador Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,249,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Matador Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $56,161,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Matador Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,184,000. Finally, Value Holdings Management CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Matador Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,532,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.98% of the company's stock.

Matador Resources Trading Up 4.8%

The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.30. The firm has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a PE ratio of 9.66 and a beta of 0.98.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 32.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Matador Resources Company will post 7.61 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 issued a $0.3750 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Matador Resources's payout ratio is 25.73%.

Matador Resources Company Profile

Matador Resources Company is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production and acquisition of oil and natural gas properties. Its operations are focused primarily on unconventional, or shale, formations, with oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids among its principal products.

The company's main exploration and production activities are concentrated in the Delaware Basin, part of the Permian Basin in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas. Matador has also historically held interests in other U.S.

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