Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) by 34.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,018,544 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 262,416 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Antero Resources were worth $35,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in Antero Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Antero Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Antero Resources by 205.2% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,358 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 59.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,401 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Antero Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. 83.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Antero Resources Trading Down 13.8 %

NYSE:AR opened at $33.43 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $38.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a PE ratio of 104.47 and a beta of 3.38. Antero Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $24.53 and a fifty-two week high of $42.63.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $44.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Antero Resources in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Antero Resources from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Antero Resources currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.24.

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.