8,140 Shares in Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) Acquired by Altfest L J & Co. Inc.

Key Points

• Altfest L J & Co. Inc. acquired 8,140 shares of Antero Resources Corporation, worth approximately $329,000, marking a new position for the investment firm during the 1st quarter.
• Insider transactions revealed significant stock sales, including director W. Howard Keenan, Jr. selling over 1 million shares for approximately $43.35 million, significantly reducing his stake in the company.
• Analyst ratings for Antero Resources have improved, with Mizuho raising its rating to "outperform" and increasing the price target from $47.00 to $49.00, reflecting positive sentiment in the market.

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,140 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Antero Resources by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,060 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Antero Resources by 5.0% during the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 7,105 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Antero Resources by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 14,355 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Antero Resources by 64.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,046 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in Antero Resources by 7.1% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 6,282 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.04% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 25,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 306,819 shares in the company, valued at $12,229,805.34. This trade represents a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 1,061,987 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.82, for a total transaction of $43,350,309.34. Following the sale, the director directly owned 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,125,200 shares of company stock worth $45,887,466. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho raised Antero Resources from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Antero Resources from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America lifted their price target on Antero Resources from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price target on Antero Resources and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Antero Resources from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Antero Resources has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.53.

Antero Resources Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:AR opened at $33.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $37.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.47. Antero Resources Corporation has a 12-month low of $24.53 and a 12-month high of $44.01.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.33). Antero Resources had a return on equity of 6.48% and a net margin of 10.13%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.21) EPS. The company's revenue was up 32.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Antero Resources Corporation will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.