The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Stock Holdings in Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 302,208 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,087 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.10% of Antero Resources worth $10,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Antero Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $140,020,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Antero Resources by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,661,491 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $689,135,000 after acquiring an additional 2,201,429 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Antero Resources by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,829,263 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $414,628,000 after acquiring an additional 1,274,760 shares during the last quarter. Webs Creek Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Antero Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $44,525,000. Finally, Slate Path Capital LP purchased a new stake in Antero Resources in the fourth quarter worth $35,471,000. Institutional investors own 83.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $44.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Antero Resources from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Antero Resources from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.39.

Antero Resources Stock Up 3.4 %

NYSE AR traded up $1.21 on Wednesday, hitting $36.71. The stock had a trading volume of 4,451,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,143,427. The business's fifty day moving average price is $36.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.96. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $24.53 and a 52-week high of $42.63. The stock has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.72 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Insider Activity at Antero Resources

In related news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 200,000 shares of Antero Resources stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,800,000 shares in the company, valued at $71,568,000. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.