Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) Upgraded at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $37.00 target price on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on AR. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Antero Resources from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Scotiabank upgraded Antero Resources from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Roth Mkm began coverage on shares of Antero Resources in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a buy rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Antero Resources has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $33.40.

Antero Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AR opened at $26.49 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $8.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 132.45 and a beta of 3.33. Antero Resources has a 1-year low of $20.10 and a 1-year high of $36.28.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and natural gas company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by ($0.04). Antero Resources had a return on equity of 0.45% and a net margin of 1.88%. The firm had revenue of $978.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $980.20 million. Analysts forecast that Antero Resources will post 0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 50,000 shares of Antero Resources stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.24, for a total transaction of $1,262,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 248,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,268,682.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Antero Resources by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,066,610 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $813,932,000 after buying an additional 372,450 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Antero Resources by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,537,261 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $238,985,000 after buying an additional 2,655,604 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Antero Resources by 11.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,840,690 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $256,380,000 after purchasing an additional 917,338 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Antero Resources by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,659,033 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $128,352,000 after buying an additional 1,253,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Antero Resources by 269.4% during the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 3,967,300 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $129,453,000 after purchasing an additional 2,893,395 shares in the last quarter. 83.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Antero Resources

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.