Payden & Rygel Investment Group Takes $113,000 Position in Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR)

Payden & Rygel Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,910 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Antero Resources by 33.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,655,604 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Antero Resources by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,659,033 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $128,352,000 after buying an additional 1,253,510 shares during the last quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT bought a new stake in Antero Resources in the first quarter worth about $35,734,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Antero Resources by 11.6% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 917,338 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Antero Resources in the first quarter valued at about $25,288,000. 83.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AR. StockNews.com raised shares of Antero Resources to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Antero Resources from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Antero Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Antero Resources in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.69.

Antero Resources Price Performance

Antero Resources stock traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $29.20. 3,855,356 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,334,340. Antero Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $20.10 and a 52 week high of $36.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $9.08 billion, a PE ratio of 146.00 and a beta of 3.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $33.01 and its 200-day moving average is $29.06.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Antero Resources had a net margin of 1.50% and a return on equity of 0.18%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Antero Resources Co. will post 0.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Sheri Pearce sold 16,377 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.50, for a total value of $581,383.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,460 shares in the company, valued at $2,749,830. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert J. Clark sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.67, for a total value of $336,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 69,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,355,654.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Sheri Pearce sold 16,377 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.50, for a total value of $581,383.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 77,460 shares in the company, valued at $2,749,830. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 476,377 shares of company stock worth $16,326,084 over the last ninety days. 6.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.