Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) Upgraded to Buy at Benchmark

Benchmark upgraded shares of Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $44.00 target price on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AR. TD Cowen upgraded Antero Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Mizuho set a $47.00 target price on shares of Antero Resources in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Antero Resources in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $46.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Antero Resources has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.87.

Antero Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AR opened at $38.97 on Thursday. Antero Resources has a twelve month low of $29.10 and a twelve month high of $44.01. The company has a market cap of $12.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $34.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Antero Resources had a net margin of 12.02% and a return on equity of 6.71%. Antero Resources’s revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Antero Resources will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Antero Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AR. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Antero Resources by 16,498.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 9,627 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 9,569 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Antero Resources by 7.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 590,555 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $23,882,000 after buying an additional 43,312 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in Antero Resources by 18.9% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,921 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 3,169 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Antero Resources by 5.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,990 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,772,000 after acquiring an additional 2,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in Antero Resources by 91.3% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 656 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Antero Resources

Here are the key news stories impacting Antero Resources this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $48 and assigned a “buy” rating (implies ~23% upside vs. the current level), signaling stronger buy-side analyst conviction that supports the rally. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark upgraded AR from “hold” to “buy” and set a $44 target, adding another analyst upgrade that likely contributed to upward price pressure. Benzinga Finviz TickerReport
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks raised one Q4‑2027 quarterly estimate (to $1.00) even as it maintains a “Hold” rating — a mixed signal that slightly supports longer‑term forecasts but does not represent a full upgrade. MarketBeat
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options activity: investors bought 58,929 AR put contracts (a ~284% jump vs. typical daily put volume), indicating significant bearish hedging or directional bets that could increase downside pressure or volatility.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks cut several near‑term and FY‑2027 EPS estimates (multiple quarter downward revisions and FY2027 trimmed from $3.30 to $3.18) and left a “Hold” rating — these analyst downgrades reduce upside analyst guidance and may cap momentum. MarketBeat
• Negative Sentiment: Separate note: Zacks’ Q3 EPS estimate cut (reported by American Banking News) underscores additional downside to near‑term earnings expectations. American Banking News

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.