Is Matador Resources Company’s (NYSE:MTDR) CEO Pay Fair?
Joseph Foran has been the CEO of Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR) since 2003. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. Next, we’ll consider growth that the business demonstrates. Third, we’ll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.
Check out our latest analysis for Matador Resources
How Does Joseph Foran’s Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
Our data indicates that Matador Resources Company is worth US$2.2b, and total annual CEO compensation is US$10m. (This number is for the twelve months until December 2017). While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at US$1.0m. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from US$1.0b to US$3.2b, and the median CEO compensation was US$3.4m.
As you can see, Joseph Foran is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Matador Resources Company is paying too much. A closer look at the performance of the underlying business will give us a better idea about whether the pay is particularly generous.
The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Matador Resources has changed from year to year.
Is Matador Resources Company Growing?
Over the last three years Matador Resources Company has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 108% per year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 67% over the last year.
This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. It’s great to see that revenue growth is strong, too. These metrics suggest the business is growing strongly. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.
Has Matador Resources Company Been A Good Investment?
With a total shareholder return of 16% over three years, Matador Resources Company shareholders would, in general, be reasonably content. But they would probably prefer not to see CEO compensation far in excess of the median.
In Summary…
We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by Matador Resources Company, and compared it to remuneration at a group of similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.
However, the earnings per share growth over three years is certainly impressive. We also think investors are doing ok, over the same time period. You might wish to research management further, but on this analysis, considering the EPS growth, we wouldn’t call the CEO pay problematic. Shareholders may want to check for free if Matador Resources insiders are buying or selling shares.
Important note: Matador Resources may not be the best stock to buy. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
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If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
