Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Truist Financial

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Truist Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays increased their price target on Antero Resources from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Monday, December 8th. Benchmark raised shares of Antero Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $50.00 price target on shares of Antero Resources in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.63.

Antero Resources Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of AR opened at $43.39 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $13.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Antero Resources has a 1 year low of $29.10 and a 1 year high of $44.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.53.

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

Insider Activity at Antero Resources

In other news, Director Benjamin A. Hardesty sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $528,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 150,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,610,648. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 15,000 shares of Antero Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.33, for a total value of $589,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 319,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,551,068.26. This trade represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AR. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Antero Resources by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,185,601 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $39,789,000 after purchasing an additional 51,126 shares during the period. Goodman Financial Corp bought a new stake in Antero Resources in the third quarter worth about $14,791,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in shares of Antero Resources by 103.8% during the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 436,476 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $14,648,000 after buying an additional 222,311 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Antero Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,015,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 43.4% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 595,608 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $19,989,000 after buying an additional 180,390 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

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.