William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $50.27 Million Stock Holdings in Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR)

William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,434,147 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,439 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 0.46% of Antero Resources worth $50,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mercuria Capital Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Antero Resources during the 4th quarter worth $11,917,000. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of 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. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 230,565 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $8,081,000 after buying an additional 62,683 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 464.0% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 21,901 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 18,018 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Antero Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $556,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

Antero Resources Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AR opened at $38.86 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $38.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.69. 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 one year low of $24.53 and a one year high of $41.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.09 billion, a PE ratio of 121.43 and a beta of 3.38.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.14. Antero Resources had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 0.74%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Antero Resources Co. will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $44.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total value of $7,952,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,800,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,568,000. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.70% of the stock is owned by 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.