Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.22.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AR. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 16th. TD Cowen raised shares of Antero Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Antero Resources in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th.

Antero Resources Trading Down 0.5%

Antero Resources stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $40.86. The company had a trading volume of 4,172,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,265,890. The firm has a market cap of $12.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.51 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. Antero Resources has a 1 year low of $24.53 and a 1 year high of $44.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $38.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.34.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.10. Antero Resources had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 4.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. The company's revenue was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Antero Resources will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Antero Resources

In other news, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 25,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.86, for a total value of $1,004,472.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 306,819 shares in the company, valued at $12,229,805.34. This represents a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 1,061,987 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.82, for a total transaction of $43,350,309.34. Following the sale, the director now owns 38,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,551,690.66. This represents a 96.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,125,200 shares of company stock worth $45,887,466. 6.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Antero Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in Antero Resources by 22.8% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 184,972 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $7,480,000 after buying an additional 34,311 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Antero Resources during the first quarter valued at $8,757,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Antero Resources during the first quarter valued at $6,880,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Antero Resources by 10.1% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,054 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Antero Resources by 396.2% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 116,387 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $4,707,000 after purchasing an additional 92,930 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.04% of the company's stock.

About Antero Resources

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.