Raymond James & Associates Has $8.42 Million Stock Position in Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR - Free Report) by 227.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 371,404 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 258,083 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.12% of Antero Resources worth $8,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AR. PointState Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Antero Resources in the first quarter valued at about $126,793,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Antero Resources by 55.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,881,657 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $200,036,000 after buying an additional 2,814,127 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Antero Resources by 66.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,323,092 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $193,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,517,137 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Antero Resources by 83.8% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,293,239 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $122,221,000 after purchasing an additional 2,414,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palo Duro Investment Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Antero Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,267,000. 83.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Antero Resources

In other news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 232,293 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.85, for a total value of $6,004,774.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,550,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 206,978 shares of Antero Resources stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.15, for a total value of $5,412,474.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,793,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,187,525.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 232,293 shares of Antero Resources stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.85, for a total transaction of $6,004,774.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,000,000 shares in the company, valued at $77,550,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 467,280 shares of company stock worth $12,153,605. 5.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AR. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Antero Resources from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.18.

Antero Resources Stock Up 1.1 %

AR stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.29. 3,460,305 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,880,820. The company has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04 and a beta of 3.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Antero Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $19.91 and a twelve month high of $30.90. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.89.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Antero Resources had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 2.10%. On average, research analysts forecast that Antero Resources Co. will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Antero Resources 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.