Janus Henderson Group PLC Reduces Holdings in Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR)

Janus Henderson Group PLC decreased its position in shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 91,901 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 4,196 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 0.07% of Matador Resources worth $5,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Matador Resources by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,555,553 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $706,375,000 after purchasing an additional 187,633 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Matador Resources by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,444,723 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $306,313,000 after buying an additional 30,184 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Matador Resources by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,698,606 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $151,824,000 after buying an additional 555,245 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Matador Resources by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,669,957 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $93,952,000 after buying an additional 258,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in Matador Resources by 262.0% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,517,308 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $85,364,000 after acquiring an additional 1,098,108 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTDR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Matador Resources from $70.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Matador Resources from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Matador Resources from $77.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $84.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Matador Resources from $86.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.33.

Insider Activity

In other Matador Resources news, CEO Joseph Wm Foran purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $53.94 per share, with a total value of $323,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,124,103.26. This trade represents a 17.98% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert T. Macalik acquired 1,200 shares of Matador Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $47.98 per share, for a total transaction of $57,576.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,487,380. The trade was a 4.03% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 36,200 shares of company stock worth $1,701,872. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Matador Resources Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Matador Resources stock opened at $44.49 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Matador Resources has a 1 year low of $35.19 and a 1 year high of $66.89. The firm has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.37.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The energy company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.25. Matador Resources had a net margin of 25.26% and a return on equity of 18.52%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $980.87 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 28.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Matador Resources will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matador Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.3125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Matador Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.78%.

Matador Resources announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the energy company to purchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.