Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $42.74 and last traded at $41.99, with a volume of 864702 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AR. Mizuho upgraded Antero Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $49.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on Antero Resources from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. TD Cowen raised shares of Antero Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Antero Resources in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Antero Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.22.

Antero Resources Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $13.10 billion, a PE ratio of 131.66 and a beta of 0.67. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.82.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Antero Resources had a return on equity of 0.74% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Antero Resources Co. will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Antero Resources

In related news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 1,061,987 shares of Antero Resources stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.82, for a total value of $43,350,309.34. Following the sale, the director now owns 38,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,551,690.66. This trade represents a 96.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 25,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.86, for a total transaction of $1,004,472.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 306,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,229,805.34. This trade represents a 7.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,125,200 shares of company stock valued at $45,887,466 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Antero Resources

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AR. Slate Path Capital LP purchased a new position in Antero Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $35,471,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Antero Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $556,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Antero Resources by 1,423.0% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,544 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 7,983 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Antero Resources by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 178,183 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $6,246,000 after acquiring an additional 12,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Antero Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $968,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

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.