Xponance Inc. Boosts Position in Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR)

Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,606 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Antero Resources were worth $1,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AR. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Antero Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $968,000. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Antero Resources by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 581,100 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $20,368,000 after buying an additional 4,700 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Antero Resources by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,434,147 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $50,267,000 after buying an additional 59,439 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Antero Resources by 158.1% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 177,264 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $6,213,000 after buying an additional 108,582 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Antero Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $822,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

Antero Resources Stock Performance

Shares of AR opened at $36.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.28 and a beta of 0.68. Antero Resources Corporation has a 52-week low of $24.53 and a 52-week high of $44.02.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. Antero Resources had a return on equity of 4.01% and a net margin of 5.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Antero Resources Corporation will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AR shares. Mizuho upgraded shares of Antero Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $49.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Scotiabank set a $53.00 price target on shares of Antero Resources and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price target on shares of Antero Resources and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price target 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, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Antero Resources has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 25,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.86, for a total value of $1,004,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 306,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,229,805.34. This represents a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 1,061,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.82, for a total value of $43,350,309.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 38,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,551,690.66. This trade represents a 96.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,125,200 shares of company stock valued at $45,887,466 over the last ninety days. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.