Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Antero Resources to Strong-Buy, joining other firms that have raised price targets; the consensus rating is a Buy with an average price target of $48.56 (6 Strong Buy, 8 Buy, 5 Hold).
• Antero beat Q4 estimates with $0.62 EPS (consensus $0.49) and $1.41B revenue (consensus $1.33B); analysts forecast about 4.05 EPS for the year, and the stock trades at a P/E of 19.07 with a market cap near $11.9B.
• Insiders recently sold shares (e.g., 12,000 at ~$44 and 15,000 at ~$39.33), while institutional ownership is very high (~83%), with several funds materially increasing their stakes.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

AR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Antero Resources from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Antero Resources from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Antero Resources from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Antero Resources from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Antero Resources to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.56.

Antero Resources Stock Performance

Shares of AR opened at $38.52 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $38.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.42. Antero Resources has a 52 week low of $29.10 and a 52 week high of $45.75.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. Antero Resources had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 12.02%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Antero Resources will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Antero Resources

In other news, Director Benjamin A. Hardesty sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $528,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 150,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,610,648. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.33, for a total value of $589,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 319,122 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,551,068.26. This represents a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Antero Resources

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,171,885 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $341,368,000 after acquiring an additional 116,461 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,085,648 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $313,106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115,258 shares in the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 10.6% in the second quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 8,156,134 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $328,529,000 after acquiring an additional 783,117 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Antero Resources by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,999,747 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $172,291,000 after purchasing an additional 761,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Antero Resources by 35.4% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,364 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $161,768,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,828 shares during the period. 83.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Antero Resources Company Profile

Antero Resources Corporation is an independent exploration and production company focused on the development of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and oil properties in the Appalachian Basin of the United States. The company's operations target the Marcellus and Utica shales, where it applies advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize recovery from its large acreage position. Antero's portfolio encompasses significant reserves of ethane, propane and other NGLs, alongside dry gas volumes that are positioned to serve both domestic and export markets.

Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Antero Resources holds approximately 1.8 million net acres of leasehold interests across parts of West Virginia and Ohio.

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