Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.69.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AR. Raymond James upped their price target on Antero Resources from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley raised Antero Resources from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $26.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised Antero Resources to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Benchmark lowered Antero Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Antero Resources in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock.

Antero Resources Stock Up 1.2 %

AR stock opened at $33.80 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Antero Resources has a 1-year low of $19.91 and a 1-year high of $34.24. The stock has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 169.00 and a beta of 3.30.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.01). Antero Resources had a net margin of 1.50% and a return on equity of 0.18%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Antero Resources will post 0.33 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 232,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.85, for a total transaction of $6,004,774.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,550,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Sheri Pearce sold 28,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.29, for a total transaction of $736,356.61. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 106,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,805,090.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 232,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.85, for a total value of $6,004,774.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000,000 shares in the company, valued at $77,550,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 467,280 shares of company stock worth $12,153,605 in the last ninety days. 5.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Antero Resources

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AR. CWM LLC increased its stake in Antero Resources by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Antero Resources by 49.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 81,591 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,071,000 after buying an additional 27,005 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Antero Resources by 166.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 46,651 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,184,000 after buying an additional 29,172 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new stake in shares of Antero Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $246,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Antero Resources by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,826,549 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $97,118,000 after buying an additional 982,384 shares during the last quarter. 83.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Antero Resources Company Profile

Antero Resources Corporation, an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the development, production, exploration, and acquisition of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and oil properties in the United States. It operates in three segments: Exploration and Development; Marketing; and Equity Method Investment in Antero Midstream.