Merit Financial Group LLC Takes Position in Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,429 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock, valued at approximately $462,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AR. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Antero Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Antero Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in Antero Resources by 205.2% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,358 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Antero Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Antero Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.04% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Antero Resources

In related news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 1,061,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 38,013 shares in the company, valued at $1,551,690.66. This represents a 96.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 25,200 shares of Antero Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.86, for a total value of $1,004,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 306,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,229,805.34. This represents a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,125,200 shares of company stock worth $45,887,466 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Williams Trading set a $48.00 target price on Antero Resources in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Antero Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Antero Resources in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Antero Resources has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.33.

Antero Resources Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of NYSE:AR traded up $1.61 on Friday, reaching $41.65. The company had a trading volume of 5,458,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,244,104. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 130.14 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.70. Antero Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $24.53 and a twelve month high of $42.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.10. Antero Resources had a return on equity of 0.74% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.12 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Antero Resources Co. 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.