Ieq Capital LLC Purchases 47,487 Shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR)

Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) by 919.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,649 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 47,487 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Matador Resources were worth $2,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MTDR. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new position in shares of Matador Resources during the third quarter valued at $51,788,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in Matador Resources by 145.2% during 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 raised its position in Matador Resources by 565.4% during the 3rd quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 744,037 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $36,770,000 after purchasing an additional 632,218 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Matador Resources by 57.3% during 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 during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Matador Resources by 162.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 478,795 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $23,662,000 after buying an additional 296,663 shares during the last quarter. 91.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Matador Resources

In related news, EVP William Thomas Elsener purchased 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $56.60 per share, for a total transaction of $45,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 102,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,827,762.40. This represents a 0.78 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joseph Wm Foran acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,331,410.18. This represents a 4.97 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 2,980 shares of company stock valued at $165,988 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Matador Resources Stock Down 6.0 %

MTDR stock opened at $53.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.81. The company has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.44 and a beta of 3.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.93. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The energy company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by ($0.05). Matador Resources had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 25.26%. The firm had revenue of $970.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.10 million. On average, research analysts expect that Matador Resources will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matador Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This is a boost from Matador Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Matador Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MTDR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Matador Resources from $77.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Mizuho dropped their price target 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. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Matador Resources from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Matador Resources in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Matador Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.14.

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.