Clearbridge Investments LLC Reduces Holdings in Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its stake in Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) by 0.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,249,058 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 728 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Matador Resources were worth $126,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MTDR. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $72,223,000 after purchasing an additional 760,122 shares during the last quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Matador Resources by 565.4% in the third quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 744,037 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $36,770,000 after buying an additional 632,218 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Matador Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,509,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Matador Resources by 57.3% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 959,795 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $53,998,000 after acquiring an additional 349,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Matador Resources by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,286,444 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $72,375,000 after acquiring an additional 302,221 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTDR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Matador Resources in a report on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Matador Resources from $77.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Matador Resources from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Matador Resources from $84.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.79.

Matador Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:MTDR opened at $50.46 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Matador Resources has a fifty-two week low of $43.89 and a fifty-two week high of $71.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.92. The stock has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a PE ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 3.17.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The energy company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.88 by ($0.05). The company 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%. Analysts expect that Matador Resources will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matador Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. This is an increase from Matador Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Matador Resources’s payout ratio is presently 17.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matador Resources

In related news, CEO Joseph Wm Foran purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $53.94 per share, with a total value of $323,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,124,103.26. This represents a 17.98 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Robert T. Macalik acquired 1,200 shares of Matador Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $47.98 per share, for a total transaction of $57,576.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 90 days, insiders have bought 21,350 shares of company stock valued at $1,100,769. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

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.