Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) Short Interest Up 54.9% in March

Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,730,000 shares, a growth of 54.9% from the February 28th total of 9,510,000 shares. Currently, 5.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,700,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AR. UBS Group raised their target price on Antero Resources from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Antero Resources from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Williams Trading set a $48.00 target price on Antero Resources in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Antero Resources in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $44.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.24.

Antero Resources Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:AR traded up $0.15 on Friday, reaching $39.68. 3,365,698 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,993,293. Antero Resources has a 1-year low of $24.53 and a 1-year high of $42.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $38.47 and its 200-day moving average is $33.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 124.01 and a beta of 3.38.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.14. Antero Resources had a return on equity of 0.74% and a net margin of 2.31%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Antero Resources will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total transaction of $7,952,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,800,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,568,000. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 6.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Antero Resources

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AR. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Antero Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $140,020,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Antero Resources by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,661,491 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $689,135,000 after acquiring an additional 2,201,429 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Antero Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,980,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,829,263 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $414,628,000 after acquiring an additional 1,274,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webs Creek Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Antero Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,525,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

Antero Resources Company Profile

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.