Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) Lifted to “Overweight” at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $36.00 target price on the oil and natural gas company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $26.00.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on AR. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Antero Resources from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Antero Resources from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised Antero Resources from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $32.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Benchmark downgraded Antero Resources from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Antero Resources from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $30.69.

Antero Resources Stock Performance

Shares of AR stock opened at $29.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $8.89 billion, a PE ratio of 38.03 and a beta of 3.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.87 and a 200-day moving average of $25.24. Antero Resources has a one year low of $19.91 and a one year high of $30.90.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. Antero Resources had a return on equity of 2.10% and a net margin of 5.19%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Antero Resources will post 0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Antero Resources

In related news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 206,978 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.15, for a total value of $5,412,474.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,793,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,187,525.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 206,978 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.15, for a total value of $5,412,474.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,793,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,187,525.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sheri Pearce sold 28,009 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.29, for a total value of $736,356.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 106,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,805,090.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 467,280 shares of company stock worth $12,153,605. Company insiders own 5.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Antero Resources by 1,311.8% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 960 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 892 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Antero Resources during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Antero Resources by 81.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in Antero Resources by 195.2% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Antero Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. 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.