Antero Resources Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AR)

Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 19,704 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 160% compared to the average volume of 7,576 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Antero Resources news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total value of $7,952,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,800,000 shares in the company, valued at $71,568,000. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Antero Resources

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Advisors Inc. OK bought a new position in Antero Resources in the first quarter worth approximately $202,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Antero Resources by 40.9% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,816 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 12,131 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Antero Resources during the 1st quarter worth $443,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Antero Resources during the 1st quarter worth $1,258,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Antero Resources by 5.0% in the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 7,105 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

Antero Resources Stock Performance

Antero Resources stock opened at $36.17 on Wednesday. Antero Resources has a fifty-two week low of $24.53 and a fifty-two week high of $42.63. The company has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a PE ratio of 113.03 and a beta of 3.08. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $36.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.14. Antero Resources had a return on equity of 0.74% and a net margin of 2.31%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Antero Resources will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Antero Resources from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Antero Resources from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Antero Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $44.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Antero Resources in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.44.

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.