Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) Increases Dividend to $0.31 Per Share

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 19th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of 0.3125 per share by the energy company on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Matador Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25.

Matador Resources has increased its dividend by an average of 89.5% per year over the last three years. Matador Resources has a payout ratio of 11.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Matador Resources to earn $8.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 11.7%.

Matador Resources Price Performance

Shares of MTDR traded down $1.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,257,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,058,954. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $58.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 3.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Matador Resources has a fifty-two week low of $47.15 and a fifty-two week high of $71.08.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The energy company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.88 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $970.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.10 million. Matador Resources had a return on equity of 20.01% and a net margin of 27.45%. On average, research analysts predict that Matador Resources will post 7.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matador Resources

In other news, CEO Joseph Wm Foran acquired 2,000 shares of Matador Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $55.18 per share, for a total transaction of $110,360.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 42,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,331,410.18. This represents a 4.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP William Thomas Elsener acquired 800 shares of Matador Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $56.60 per share, with a total value of $45,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,827,762.40. The trade was a 0.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 2,980 shares of company stock worth $165,988 over the last ninety days. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $77.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Matador Resources in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Matador Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.14.

Matador Resources Company 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.