Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $3.36 Million Holdings in Antero Resources Corporation $AR

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank reduced its stake in Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) by 28.5% in Q4, selling 38,837 shares and leaving 97,620 shares valued at about $3.36 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is mildly positive: the stock's average analyst rating is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $48.56, and several firms have recently raised targets (e.g., Morgan Stanley to $56, Citi to $53).
• Company insiders have been selling shares—Director Benjamin Hardesty sold 12,000 shares and Yvette K. Schultz sold 15,000—leaving insiders owning 6.30% of the company, while institutional investors hold about 83.04%.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its holdings in Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR - Free Report) by 28.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,620 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 38,837 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Antero Resources were worth $3,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Antero Resources by 4.5% in the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,185,601 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $39,789,000 after purchasing an additional 51,126 shares during the last quarter. Goodman Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Antero Resources in the third quarter worth approximately $14,791,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in shares of Antero Resources by 103.8% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 436,476 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $14,648,000 after acquiring an additional 222,311 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Antero Resources by 43.4% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 595,608 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $19,989,000 after acquiring an additional 180,390 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Antero Resources in the third quarter worth approximately $1,730,000. 83.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AR. Jefferies Financial Group set a $50.00 price objective on Antero Resources in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Antero Resources from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $39.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Antero Resources in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.56.

Insider Activity at Antero Resources

In related news, Director Benjamin A. Hardesty sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $528,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 150,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,610,648. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.33, for a total transaction of $589,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 319,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,551,068.26. This represents a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Antero Resources Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE AR opened at $37.86 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.55. Antero Resources Corporation has a one year low of $29.10 and a one year high of $45.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.13. Antero Resources had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 12.02%.The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Antero Resources Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Antero Resources Company Profile

Antero Resources Corporation is an independent exploration and production company focused on the development of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and oil properties in the Appalachian Basin of the United States. The company's operations target the Marcellus and Utica shales, where it applies advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize recovery from its large acreage position. Antero's portfolio encompasses significant reserves of ethane, propane and other NGLs, alongside dry gas volumes that are positioned to serve both domestic and export markets.

Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Antero Resources holds approximately 1.8 million net acres of leasehold interests across parts of West Virginia and Ohio.

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