Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Acquires 12,131 Shares of Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR)

Key Points

• Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Antero Resources Corporation by 40.9%, acquiring an additional 12,131 shares, bringing its total holdings to 41,816 shares valued at approximately $1.69 million.
• Recent analyst reports show a generally positive outlook for Antero Resources, with target price increases from firms like Raymond James and Bank of America, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy" for the stock.
• Insider trading activity included significant sell-offs, such as Yvette K. Schultz selling 25,200 shares worth over $1 million and W. Howard Keenan, Jr. unloading over 1 million shares, indicating potential shifts in insider confidence.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR - Free Report) by 40.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,816 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,131 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Antero Resources were worth $1,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted 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 in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted 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 in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted 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 in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Antero Resources by 17.2% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,008 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. 83.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Antero Resources

In related news, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 25,200 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider owned 306,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,229,805.34. This represents a 7.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 1,061,987 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.82, for a total transaction of $43,350,309.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 38,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,551,690.66. This trade represents a 96.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,125,200 shares of company stock worth $45,887,466. 6.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AR shares. Mizuho raised shares of 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. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Antero Resources and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.18.

Antero Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Antero Resources stock traded down $1.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $33.67. 6,071,332 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,731,573. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $37.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.67. Antero Resources Corporation has a 1-year low of $24.53 and a 1-year high of $44.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. Antero Resources had a return on equity of 6.48% and a net margin of 10.13%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 32.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.21) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Antero Resources Corporation will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Antero Resources 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.