California Public Employees Retirement System Has $16.88 Million Stock Holdings in Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 481,594 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 20,078 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.15% of Antero Resources worth $16,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,574,973 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,036,603,000 after buying an additional 214,060 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Antero Resources by 4.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,460,062 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $500,231,000 after acquiring an additional 675,053 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Antero Resources by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,852,246 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $139,054,000 after acquiring an additional 61,490 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Antero Resources during the 4th quarter worth $140,020,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,961,644 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $68,756,000 after purchasing an additional 32,220 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total value of $7,952,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,800,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,568,000. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Antero Resources Trading Down 13.8 %

Shares of AR opened at $33.43 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $38.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Antero Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $24.53 and a 12-month high of $42.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.47 and a beta of 3.38.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Antero Resources Co. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Antero Resources to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Williams Trading set a $48.00 price objective on Antero Resources in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on Antero Resources from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.24.

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.