MetLife Investment Management LLC Buys 406,507 Shares of Antero Resources Corporation $AR

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Antero Resources Corporation by 246.6%, now owning 571,347 shares worth $23,105,000 as of the recent quarter.
• Various institutional investors, including Campbell & CO and SVB Wealth LLC, have also adjusted their stakes in Antero Resources, collectively owning over 83% of the company's stock.
• Despite a missed earnings estimate for the last quarter, analysts optimistic about Antero Resources have set target prices ranging from $39.00 to $58.00, indicating a "Moderate Buy" consensus.

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR - Free Report) by 246.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 571,347 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 406,507 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Antero Resources worth $23,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AR. Sourcerock Group LLC boosted its position in Antero Resources by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 6,355,724 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $222,768,000 after purchasing an additional 231,068 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 44.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,440,328 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $179,567,000 after buying an additional 1,362,370 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Antero Resources by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,423,044 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $178,868,000 after buying an additional 428,167 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Antero Resources by 133.1% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,743,957 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $151,406,000 after buying an additional 2,137,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Antero Resources by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,431,631 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $85,229,000 after acquiring an additional 447,944 shares in the last quarter. 83.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AR shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Antero Resources from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Roth Capital lowered Antero Resources from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, August 18th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Antero Resources from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $49.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.65.

Antero Resources Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:AR traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $31.33. 4,713,971 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,871,633. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Antero Resources Corporation has a twelve month low of $24.53 and a twelve month high of $44.01. The company has a market capitalization of $9.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96 and a beta of 0.64. The company's 50 day moving average is $35.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.77.

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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.21) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 32.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Antero Resources Corporation will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.