Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) Upgraded to “Buy” at Benchmark

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Benchmark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday. The brokerage currently has a $44.00 target price on the oil and natural gas company’s stock. Benchmark’s price target indicates a potential upside of 13.52% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Antero Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Antero Resources in a research report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 target price (down from $44.00) on shares of Antero Resources in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Antero Resources from $46.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.67.

Antero Resources Price Performance

NYSE AR opened at $38.76 on Thursday. Antero Resources has a 1 year low of $29.10 and a 1 year high of $44.01. The business’s fifty day moving average is $34.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.13. Antero Resources had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 12.02%.The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. Antero Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Antero Resources will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Antero Resources

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Annandale Capital LLC grew its position in Antero Resources by 0.4% in the third quarter. Annandale Capital LLC now owns 73,754 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,475,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Antero Resources by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,108 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Antero Resources by 2.0% during the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 15,752 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Antero Resources by 91.3% during the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 656 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Uhlmann Price Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Antero Resources by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC now owns 15,125 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

About Antero Resources

Antero Resources Corporation is an independent exploration and production company focused on the development of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and oil properties in the Appalachian Basin of the United States. The company’s operations target the Marcellus and Utica shales, where it applies advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize recovery from its large acreage position. Antero’s portfolio encompasses significant reserves of ethane, propane and other NGLs, alongside dry gas volumes that are positioned to serve both domestic and export markets.

Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Antero Resources holds approximately 1.8 million net acres of leasehold interests across parts of West Virginia and Ohio.