Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Acquires Shares of 1,194,712 Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR)

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,194,712 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock, valued at approximately $48,314,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Antero Resources at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Slate Path Capital LP bought a new stake in Antero Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $35,471,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Antero Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $556,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Antero Resources by 64.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,046 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Antero Resources in the 1st quarter valued at $538,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Antero Resources in the 1st quarter valued at $220,000. 83.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Antero Resources

In related news, 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 value of $43,350,309.34. Following the transaction, the director owned 38,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,551,690.66. This represents a 96.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,004,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 306,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,229,805.34. This trade represents a 7.59% 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AR. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Antero Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Antero Resources currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.18.

Antero Resources Stock Performance

AR traded up $0.10 on Friday, reaching $35.95. The company had a trading volume of 5,934,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,407,540. Antero Resources Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $24.53 and a fifty-two week high of $44.02. The stock has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.80 and a beta of 0.68. The company's fifty day moving average is $39.15 and its 200 day moving average is $37.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.10. Antero Resources had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 4.01%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.12 EPS. Antero Resources's quarterly revenue was up 20.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict 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.