Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.31

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 18th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors 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 is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Matador Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25.

Matador Resources has raised its dividend payment by an average of 89.5% per year over the last three years. Matador Resources has a payout ratio of 11.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Matador Resources to earn $8.53 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 11.7%.

Matador Resources Stock Down 2.1 %

MTDR stock traded down $1.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.60. 2,257,712 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,059,088. 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 cap of $7.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 3.22. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.78. Matador Resources has a 1-year low of $47.15 and a 1-year high of $71.08.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The energy company reported $1.83 EPS 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 20.01% and a net margin of 27.45%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Matador Resources will post 7.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Joseph Wm Foran acquired 2,000 shares of Matador Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $55.18 per share, with a total value of $110,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 42,251 shares in the company, valued at $2,331,410.18. This trade represents a 4.97 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Thomas Elsener acquired 800 shares of Matador Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $56.60 per share, with a total value of $45,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,827,762.40. This trade represents a 0.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 2,980 shares of company stock worth $165,988. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTDR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Matador Resources in a report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Matador Resources from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Matador Resources in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Matador Resources from $77.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Matador Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.14.

About Matador Resources

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.