Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR - Free Report) by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 501,050 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 78,901 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.16% of Antero Resources worth $17,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AR. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in Antero Resources by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 21,716 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 4,810 shares during the period. Capital CS Group LLC purchased a new position in Antero Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $615,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in Antero Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Antero Resources by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 24,200 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $848,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Antero Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.04% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Antero Resources news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total value of $7,952,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,800,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $71,568,000. This trade represents a 10.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 1,300,000 shares of company stock valued at $52,834,994 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

Antero Resources Stock Performance

AR traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $39.75. 3,289,402 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,187,452. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.55. Antero Resources Co. has a 12 month low of $24.53 and a 12 month high of $42.63. The stock has a market cap of $12.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 124.23 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.10. Antero Resources had a return on equity of 0.74% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Antero Resources Co. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AR. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Antero Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Benchmark restated a "hold" rating on shares of Antero Resources in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Antero Resources in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Antero Resources to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.72.

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.