Castleark Management LLC Buys Shares of 234,290 Antero Resources Corporation $AR

Key Points

• Castleark Management LLC initiated a new position in Antero Resources, buying 234,290 shares valued at about $8.1 million in the fourth quarter, giving it roughly 0.08% ownership of the company.
• Other institutional investors also added to their stakes, and institutions now own a large majority of the stock at 83.04%, signaling continued hedge fund and asset manager interest in the energy producer.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including director Benjamin A. Hardesty and insider Michael N. Kennedy, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average price target of $50.06.

Castleark Management LLC bought a new stake in Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 234,290 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock, valued at approximately $8,074,000. Castleark Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Antero Resources as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Antero Resources by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,171,885 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $341,368,000 after acquiring an additional 116,461 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Antero Resources by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,085,648 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $313,106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115,258 shares in the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC increased its position in shares of Antero Resources by 10.6% during the second quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 8,156,134 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $328,529,000 after acquiring an additional 783,117 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Antero Resources by 3.2% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,508,542 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $151,307,000 after acquiring an additional 140,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Antero Resources by 111.2% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,988,300 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $137,437,000 after purchasing an additional 2,099,755 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.04% of the company's stock.

Antero Resources Stock Performance

AR opened at $34.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company's fifty day moving average price is $37.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.46. Antero Resources Corporation has a 1-year low of $29.10 and a 1-year high of $45.75. The company has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Benjamin A. Hardesty sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $528,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 150,242 shares in the company, valued at $6,610,648. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael N. Kennedy sold 185,826 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.33, for a total transaction of $7,308,536.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,085,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,680,601.36. This represents a 14.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 237,316 shares of company stock worth $9,387,309 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AR. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Antero Resources from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research cut shares of Antero Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Antero Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.06.

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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