Sciencast Management LP Acquires New Stake in Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR)

Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 48,906 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,714,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Antero Resources by 94.5% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 93,168 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $3,266,000 after purchasing an additional 45,259 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Antero Resources by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 33,092 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Antero Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $822,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Antero Resources by 158.1% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 108,582 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Antero Resources by 4.3% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 59,439 shares during the period. 83.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Antero Resources

In other Antero Resources news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 200,000 shares of Antero Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total transaction of $7,952,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,800,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,568,000. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Antero Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AR opened at $40.70 on Friday. Antero Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $24.53 and a fifty-two week high of $41.53. The stock has a market cap of $12.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.18 and a beta of 3.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.99.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Antero Resources Co. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AR shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Antero Resources from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Antero Resources to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James increased their price target on Antero Resources from $44.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Antero Resources from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Antero Resources from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.06.

Antero Resources Company 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.