Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Acquires New Stake in Antero Resources Corporation $AR

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new stake in Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 36,693 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AR. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Antero Resources by 64.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,046 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Antero Resources during the 1st quarter worth $220,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Antero Resources during the 1st quarter worth $538,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Antero Resources by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 95,583 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $3,865,000 after purchasing an additional 2,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Antero Resources by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 62,004 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,507,000 after purchasing an additional 2,522 shares in the last quarter. 83.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on AR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $49.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Antero Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Antero Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Antero Resources from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Antero Resources Trading Up 3.0%

NYSE:AR opened at $30.94 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.14. Antero Resources Corporation has a 52-week low of $25.36 and a 52-week high of $44.01. The company has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.33). Antero Resources had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 7.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.21) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Antero Resources Corporation will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Antero Resources 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.