Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.31 Per Share

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 18th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid 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 a positive change 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 payout ratio of 11.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Price Performance

NYSE MTDR traded down $1.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.60. 2,257,712 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,059,088. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $7.06 billion, a PE ratio of 7.50 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 50 day moving average price is $58.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.78.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) last issued 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). Matador Resources had a return on equity of 20.01% and a net margin of 27.45%. The business had revenue of $970.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.10 million. Research analysts expect that Matador Resources will post 7.39 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTDR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Matador Resources from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on 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 initiated coverage on Matador Resources in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Matador Resources from $77.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Matador Resources from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Matador Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP William Thomas Elsener bought 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $56.60 per share, for a total transaction of $45,280.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,827,762.40. This trade represents a 0.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. 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 bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $55.18 per share, for a total transaction of $110,360.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 2,980 shares of company stock worth $165,988. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

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.