Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $42.74 and last traded at $41.99, with a volume of 864702 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded Antero Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Mizuho raised shares of Antero Resources from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Williams Trading set a $48.00 target price on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Antero Resources in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Antero Resources currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.22.

Antero Resources Stock Up 1.2%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $37.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.97. The firm has a market cap of $13.36 billion, a PE ratio of 46.77 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.10. Antero Resources had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 4.01%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Antero Resources Corporation will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 25,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.86, for a total transaction of $1,004,472.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 306,819 shares in the company, valued at $12,229,805.34. The trade was a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 38,013 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.32, for a total transaction of $1,532,684.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 364,992 shares in the company, valued at $14,716,477.44. This represents a 9.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,125,200 shares of company stock worth $45,887,466. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Antero Resources by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,574,973 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,036,603,000 after acquiring an additional 214,060 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,661,491 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $689,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,201,429 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Antero Resources by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,829,263 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $414,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274,760 shares during the period. Sourcerock Group LLC grew its stake in Antero Resources by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 6,355,724 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $222,768,000 after buying an additional 231,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Antero Resources by 44.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,440,328 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $179,567,000 after buying an additional 1,362,370 shares during 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.