Matador Resources (MTDR) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.31 on March 14th

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 18th,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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Matador Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25.

Matador Resources has increased its dividend payment by an average of 89.5% annually over the last three years. Matador Resources has a dividend payout ratio of 11.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Matador Resources to earn $8.51 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 11.8%.

Matador Resources Stock Down 2.1 %

Matador Resources stock opened at $56.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.93 and a beta of 3.22. Matador Resources has a fifty-two week low of $47.15 and a fifty-two week high of $71.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $58.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.78.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $970.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.10 million. Matador Resources had a net margin of 25.26% and a return on equity of 19.08%. Analysts predict that Matador Resources will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Matador Resources

In related news, CEO Joseph Wm Foran bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $55.18 per share, for a total transaction of $110,360.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 42,251 shares in the company, valued at $2,331,410.18. This represents a 4.97 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP William Thomas Elsener acquired 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were 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 directly owns 102,964 shares in the company, valued at $5,827,762.40. The trade was a 0.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 2,980 shares of company stock worth $165,988 in the last three months. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MTDR. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Matador Resources in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stephens increased their price objective on Matador Resources from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Matador Resources from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.