Cerity Partners LLC Buys Shares of 44,775 Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR)

Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 44,775 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock, valued at approximately $1,015,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AR. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Antero Resources by 55.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,881,657 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $200,036,000 after purchasing an additional 2,814,127 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Antero Resources by 34.5% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,826,549 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $97,118,000 after buying an additional 982,384 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Antero Resources by 129.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,508,156 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $34,205,000 after buying an additional 850,940 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Antero Resources by 865.0% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 680,576 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $17,273,000 after buying an additional 610,051 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Antero Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $13,182,000. 83.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Antero Resources Price Performance

Shares of AR traded up $1.09 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $30.38. 5,516,567 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,774,086. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $27.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.30. Antero Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $19.91 and a 12-month high of $30.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.45 and a beta of 3.30.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. Antero Resources had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 2.10%. Research analysts expect that Antero Resources Co. will post 0.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Antero Resources from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $26.00 to $36.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Benchmark downgraded Antero Resources from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Antero Resources from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Antero Resources from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded Antero Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 232,293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was 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 $77,550,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Antero Resources news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 232,293 shares of the company'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 owns 3,000,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $77,550,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Sheri Pearce sold 28,009 shares of Antero Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.29, for a total transaction of $736,356.61. Following the sale, the insider now owns 106,698 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,805,090.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 467,280 shares of company stock valued at $12,153,605 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.95% of the company's stock.

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.