Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 42,769 Shares of Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lessened its stake in Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) by 47.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,787 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 42,769 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Antero Resources were worth $1,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in Antero Resources by 269.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 3,967,300 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $129,453,000 after acquiring an additional 2,893,395 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Antero Resources by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,537,261 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $238,985,000 after buying an additional 2,655,604 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Antero Resources by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,659,033 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $128,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253,510 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Antero Resources by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,840,690 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $256,380,000 after purchasing an additional 917,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Antero Resources during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,288,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

Antero Resources Price Performance

Shares of Antero Resources stock opened at $26.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 132.45 and a beta of 3.33. Antero Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $20.10 and a twelve month high of $36.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.16.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $978.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $980.20 million. Analysts forecast that Antero Resources Co. will post 0.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 248,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,268,682.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AR shares. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Antero Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on Antero Resources in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Antero Resources from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Antero Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Antero Resources has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.40.

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.