Antero Resources Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:AR)

Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 31,213 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 220% compared to the average volume of 9,742 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brendan E. Krueger bought 5,000 shares of Antero Resources stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $33.35 per share, with a total value of $166,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 295,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,868,831.95. This trade represents a 1.72% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Antero Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Antero Resources in the first quarter worth approximately $6,761,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 14.3% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,670 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Antero Resources in the second quarter worth $532,000. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Antero Resources by 22.8% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 184,972 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $7,480,000 after buying an additional 34,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Antero Resources by 46.1% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,288,812 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $92,563,000 after buying an additional 721,767 shares during the period. 83.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Antero Resources Trading Up 4.7%

AR stock traded up $1.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $36.37. The stock had a trading volume of 2,045,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,952,562. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.82. The firm has a market cap of $11.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39 and a beta of 0.57. Antero Resources has a twelve month low of $29.10 and a twelve month high of $44.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. Antero Resources had a return on equity of 7.51% and a net margin of 11.73%.The business’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.07) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Antero Resources will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Antero Resources in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Antero Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Antero Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $49.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Antero Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

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.