Blair William & Co. IL Acquires 22,705 Shares of Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Antero Resources Corporation by 132.4% during the first quarter, owning a total of 39,856 shares valued at $1,612,000.
• A number of analysts have raised their price targets for Antero Resources, with Morgan Stanley setting a target of $47.00 and Mizuho upgrading their rating to "outperform" with a target of $49.00.
• Institutional investors now hold 83.04% of Antero Resources' stock, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company amid varying analyst ratings and insider selling activity.

Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR - Free Report) by 132.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,856 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after buying an additional 22,705 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Antero Resources were worth $1,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AR. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Antero Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Antero Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Antero Resources by 64.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,046 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Antero Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Antero Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $56,000. 83.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 25,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 306,819 shares in the company, valued at $12,229,805.34. This represents a 7.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Antero Resources Trading Down 0.6%

AR stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.15. 1,634,600 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,045,726. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46 and a beta of 0.64. Antero Resources Corporation has a 1 year low of $24.53 and a 1 year high of $44.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.99 and a 200-day moving average of $37.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.30 billion. Antero Resources had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 6.48%. The company's revenue was up 32.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.21) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Antero Resources Corporation will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.