Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $27.76 Million Stake in Antero Resources Corporation $AR

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 654,019 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after buying an additional 23,908 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of Antero Resources worth $27,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department grew its position in Antero Resources by 8.9% in the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 18,005 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Antero Resources in the 1st quarter valued at $532,000. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Antero Resources in the first quarter worth $213,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in Antero Resources by 42.5% in the first quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 14,620 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 4,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Antero Resources by 5,311.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 160,115 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $6,795,000 after buying an additional 157,156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 39,490 shares of Antero Resources stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.27, for a total transaction of $1,550,772.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 277,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,903,904.55. This trade represents a 12.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael N. Kennedy sold 185,826 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.33, for a total value of $7,308,536.58. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,085,192 shares in the company, valued at $42,680,601.36. This represents a 14.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AR. Bank of America raised their target price on Antero Resources from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Antero Resources from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Roth Capital reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Antero Resources in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Antero Resources from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Antero Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Antero Resources presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.12.

Antero Resources Price Performance

Shares of Antero Resources stock opened at $33.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Antero Resources Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $29.10 and a fifty-two week high of $45.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.33. The company has a market cap of $10.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.33.

About Antero Resources

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.