Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) Short Interest Down 15.2% in March

Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,490,000 shares, a decline of 15.2% from the March 15th total of 14,730,000 shares. Currently, 4.3% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,190,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Antero Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AR traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $35.33. 5,498,139 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,242,023. Antero Resources has a 52-week low of $24.53 and a 52-week high of $42.63. The company has a market capitalization of $10.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 110.41 and a beta of 3.08. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $36.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.49. 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 (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.14. Antero Resources had a return on equity of 0.74% and a net margin of 2.31%. Equities research analysts forecast that Antero Resources will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 200,000 shares of Antero Resources stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total transaction of $7,952,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,800,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $71,568,000. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Antero Resources

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Antero Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $140,020,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Antero Resources by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,661,491 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $689,135,000 after acquiring an additional 2,201,429 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Antero Resources by 133.1% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,743,957 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $151,406,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137,538 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Antero Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,980,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Antero Resources by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,829,263 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $414,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274,760 shares during the last quarter. 83.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AR. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. TD Cowen upgraded Antero Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $40.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $44.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Antero Resources has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.44.

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.