Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 127,338 Shares of Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 29,447,635 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 127,338 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.48% of Antero Resources worth $1,190,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of 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 period. World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of 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 period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of 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 period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.04% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Antero Resources

In other news, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 25,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 306,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,229,805.34. The trade was a 7.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho raised Antero Resources from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 target price on Antero Resources and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Antero Resources from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Antero Resources from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Antero Resources from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Antero Resources has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.65.

Antero Resources Stock Performance

AR traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $32.36. The stock had a trading volume of 3,192,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,057,805. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $36.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.25. The firm has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 0.64. Antero Resources Corporation has a one year low of $24.53 and a one year high of $44.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.33). Antero Resources had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 6.48%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.21) earnings per share. Antero Resources's revenue was up 32.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Antero Resources Corporation will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

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.