JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) Price Target to $44.00

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has lowered its price target for Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) from $49.00 to $44.00, while maintaining an "overweight" rating, indicating a potential upside of 25.98% from the current price.
• Despite the downgrade, multiple firms have differing views on Antero Resources, with Citigroup upgrading the stock to a "buy" rating while Roth Capital reduced its rating to "neutral."
• The company reported $0.35 EPS for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate, but showed a 32.6% year-over-year revenue increase with total revenue of $1.30 billion.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $49.00 to $44.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the oil and natural gas company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective suggests a potential upside of 25.98% from the company's current price.

AR has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup raised shares of Antero Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $37.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Roth Capital lowered shares of Antero Resources from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Antero Resources from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.56.

Antero Resources Stock Performance

NYSE AR opened at $34.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Antero Resources has a 1-year low of $25.36 and a 1-year high of $44.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25 and a beta of 0.56. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $32.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.95.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). 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 analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.21) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 32.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Antero Resources will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Antero Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Antero Resources by 1.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,797,653 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,200,249,000 after purchasing an additional 350,018 shares in the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Antero Resources by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 8,156,134 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $328,529,000 after purchasing an additional 783,117 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Antero Resources by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,258,305 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $211,805,000 after purchasing an additional 817,977 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in Antero Resources by 10.7% in the first 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. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 2.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,843,592 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $154,820,000 after buying an additional 99,635 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.04% of the company's stock.

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.

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