Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $22.51 Million in Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 400,093 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,509,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Matador Resources by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 510 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Matador Resources by 359.5% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 579 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Matador Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Denver PWM LLC lifted its position in Matador Resources by 67.2% during the third quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 754 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Matador Resources by 329.0% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 828 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. 91.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paul W. Harvey bought 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $55.20 per share, with a total value of $33,120.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,541,018.40. This trade represents a 2.20 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Timothy E. Parker bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $44.67 per share, with a total value of $89,340.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 83,790 shares in the company, valued at $3,742,899.30. This represents a 2.45 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 20,850 shares of company stock valued at $1,077,024 in the last three months. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MTDR. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Matador Resources in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens lifted their price objective on Matador Resources from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Matador Resources in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded Matador Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Matador Resources from $76.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.20.

Matador Resources Price Performance

MTDR stock opened at $48.61 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 6.81 and a beta of 3.17. Matador Resources has a 12-month low of $43.89 and a 12-month high of $71.08. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $56.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.01.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $970.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $967.10 million. Matador Resources had a net margin of 25.26% and a return on equity of 18.52%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Matador Resources will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Matador Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. This is a boost from Matador Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Matador Resources’s payout ratio is presently 17.51%.

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.