Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.6250.

Several analysts recently weighed in on AR shares. Barclays increased their target price on Antero Resources from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Benchmark raised Antero Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (down from $44.00) on shares of Antero Resources in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Antero Resources news, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.33, for a total value of $589,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 319,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,551,068.26. This represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Benjamin A. Hardesty sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $528,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 150,242 shares in the company, valued at $6,610,648. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Antero Resources

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Antero Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Antero Resources during the third quarter worth $30,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 59.2% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 928 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 114.2% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 938 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Antero Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

Antero Resources Stock Up 1.8%

Antero Resources stock opened at $45.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Antero Resources has a fifty-two week low of $29.10 and a fifty-two week high of $45.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.75. The firm has a market cap of $13.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33 and a beta of 0.52.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Antero Resources had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 12.02%.The firm’s revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Antero Resources will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

About Antero Resources

Antero Resources Corporation is an independent exploration and production company focused on the development of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and oil properties in the Appalachian Basin of the United States. The company’s operations target the Marcellus and Utica shales, where it applies advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize recovery from its large acreage position. Antero’s portfolio encompasses significant reserves of ethane, propane and other NGLs, alongside dry gas volumes that are positioned to serve both domestic and export markets.

Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Antero Resources holds approximately 1.8 million net acres of leasehold interests across parts of West Virginia and Ohio.