Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) Trading Down 3.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR)’s stock price fell 3.2% during trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $25.00 to $24.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the stock. Antero Resources traded as low as $26.40 and last traded at $26.44. 575,038 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 4,096,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.30.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on AR. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Antero Resources from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Antero Resources in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research raised Antero Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Antero Resources from $37.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm assumed coverage on Antero Resources in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.24, for a total value of $1,262,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 248,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,268,682.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Antero Resources

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Antero Resources by 357.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 878 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Antero Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Antero Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Antero Resources by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 3,384 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. 83.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Antero Resources Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 131.65 and a beta of 3.33.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and natural gas company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.04). Antero Resources had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 0.45%. The firm had revenue of $978.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $980.20 million. Analysts expect that Antero Resources Co. will post -0.21 EPS for the current year.

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.