Rafferty Asset Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Antero Resources Corporation $AR

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Antero Resources by 25.5%, owning 151,435 shares after selling 51,726 shares in the first quarter, valued at approximately $6.12 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Antero Resources, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price averaging $43.65, while the stock is currently trading around $32.13.
• Despite reporting an earnings miss with $0.35 EPS against a consensus of $0.68, Antero Resources showed a 32.6% year-over-year revenue increase, totaling $1.30 billion for the quarter.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR - Free Report) by 25.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 151,435 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 51,726 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Antero Resources were worth $6,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AR. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Antero Resources during the first quarter worth $26,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Antero Resources during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Antero Resources during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. acquired a new position in Antero Resources during the first quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.04% of the company's stock.

Antero Resources Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of AR stock traded down $0.37 on Wednesday, hitting $32.08. The stock had a trading volume of 908,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,032,253. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43 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's 50 day moving average price is $34.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.54.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.33). The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during 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%. Antero Resources's quarterly revenue was up 32.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.21) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Antero Resources Corporation will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Antero Resources in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays upped their price target on Antero Resources from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Mizuho raised Antero Resources from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $47.00 to $49.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Antero Resources from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One equities 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, Antero Resources presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.