Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on AR. Williams Trading set a $56.00 price objective on Antero Resources in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Antero Resources from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup raised their price target on Antero Resources from $39.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Benchmark upgraded Antero Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Antero Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.06.

Antero Resources Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE:AR opened at $35.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. Antero Resources has a 1 year low of $29.10 and a 1 year high of $45.75.

Insider Activity at Antero Resources

In related news, insider Michael N. Kennedy sold 185,826 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.33, for a total transaction of $7,308,536.58. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,085,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,680,601.36. This trade represents a 14.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 39,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.27, for a total value of $1,550,772.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 277,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,903,904.55. The trade was a 12.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 252,316 shares of company stock valued at $9,977,259 over the last quarter. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Antero Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Antero Resources by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,239,070 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $434,597,000 after buying an additional 1,153,422 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Antero Resources by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,171,885 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $341,368,000 after buying an additional 116,461 shares during the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC boosted its stake in Antero Resources by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 8,156,134 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $328,529,000 after buying an additional 783,117 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Antero Resources by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,999,747 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $172,291,000 after buying an additional 761,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Antero Resources by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,694,364 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $161,768,000 after buying an additional 1,226,828 shares during the last quarter. 83.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Antero Resources Company Profile

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.