South Dakota Investment Council Buys 24,224 Shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR)

South Dakota Investment Council increased its holdings in Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 261,922 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 24,224 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council owned 0.21% of Matador Resources worth $14,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MTDR. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new stake in Matador Resources in the third quarter worth $51,788,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Matador Resources by 145.2% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,283,743 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $72,223,000 after purchasing an additional 760,122 shares during the last quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Matador Resources by 565.4% in the 3rd quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 744,037 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $36,770,000 after buying an additional 632,218 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in Matador Resources by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 959,795 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $53,998,000 after buying an additional 349,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Matador Resources by 162.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 478,795 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $23,662,000 after purchasing an additional 296,663 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MTDR. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Matador Resources from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Matador Resources in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Matador Resources from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wolfe Research raised Matador Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Matador Resources from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.14.

Insider Activity at Matador Resources

In other Matador Resources news, CEO Joseph Wm Foran purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $55.18 per share, for a total transaction of $110,360.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 42,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,331,410.18. This represents a 4.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Thomas Elsener bought 800 shares of Matador Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $56.60 per share, with a total value of $45,280.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,964 shares in the company, valued at $5,827,762.40. This trade represents a 0.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 2,980 shares of company stock worth $165,988. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Matador Resources Trading Down 6.0 %

Shares of MTDR opened at $53.10 on Friday. Matador Resources has a twelve month low of $47.15 and a twelve month high of $71.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.44 and a beta of 3.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.81.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.10 million. Matador Resources had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 25.26%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Matador Resources will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Matador Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. This is a boost from Matador Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Matador Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 17.51%.

About Matador Resources

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.