Antero Midstream Corporation (NYSE:AM) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is cautious: Antero Midstream has a consensus rating of "Hold" from six brokerages, with five hold ratings and one strong buy. The average 1-year target price is $24.00.
• Recent results were mixed: The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.25, missing estimates by a penny, while revenue of $314.21 million topped expectations and rose 7.9% year over year.
• Income remains a focus: Antero Midstream paid a quarterly dividend of $0.225, equal to an annualized yield of 4.2%, though its payout ratio is high at 104.65%.

Shares of Antero Midstream Corporation (NYSE:AM - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.00.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AM shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Antero Midstream from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Antero Midstream from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Antero Midstream from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of Antero Midstream in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Antero Midstream from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Antero Midstream Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of AM stock opened at $21.29 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $21.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.75 and a beta of 0.66. Antero Midstream has a fifty-two week low of $16.77 and a fifty-two week high of $23.83.

Antero Midstream (NYSE:AM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The pipeline company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.01). Antero Midstream had a net margin of 33.90% and a return on equity of 20.38%. The firm had revenue of $314.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $311.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Antero Midstream will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Antero Midstream Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th were given a $0.225 dividend. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 29th. Antero Midstream's payout ratio is currently 104.65%.

Insider Transactions at Antero Midstream

In other news, insider Michael N. Kennedy sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.92, for a total transaction of $2,192,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,500,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,893,020.48. The trade was a 6.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 69,269 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.90, for a total value of $1,516,991.10. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 580,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,714,373.50. This represents a 10.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 174,269 shares of company stock valued at $3,824,791. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Antero Midstream

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Antero Midstream by 36.4% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,014 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Antero Midstream by 2.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,430 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Antero Midstream by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,305 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in shares of Antero Midstream by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 120,765 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,148,000 after buying an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its position in shares of Antero Midstream by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 14,183 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. 53.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Antero Midstream

Antero Midstream Corporation is a publicly traded midstream service provider that was established in 2014 as a spin-off from Antero Resources. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, the company owns, operates and develops midstream infrastructure to support the gathering, compression, processing, transportation and storage of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and crude oil. Antero Midstream plays a critical role in connecting upstream production in the Appalachian Basin to end-market pipelines and processing facilities.

The company's core operations include a network of gathering pipelines and compression stations that serve the Marcellus and Utica shale formations across West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

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