Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Acquires 188,729 Shares of Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR - Free Report) by 38.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 675,490 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 188,729 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned about 0.22% of Antero Resources worth $23,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AR. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Antero Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $140,020,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Antero Resources by 537.2% during the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 954,685 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $27,352,000 after acquiring an additional 804,851 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Antero Resources by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,460,062 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $500,231,000 after acquiring an additional 675,053 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Antero Resources by 117.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,132,725 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $42,885,000 after purchasing an additional 612,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercuria Capital Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Antero Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $11,917,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.04% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 200,000 shares of Antero Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $71,568,000. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AR. Raymond James lifted their price target on Antero Resources from $44.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Antero Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Antero Resources in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Antero Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.24.

Antero Resources Price Performance

NYSE:AR traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,045,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,979,357. The company has a market capitalization of $12.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.11 and a beta of 3.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Antero Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $24.53 and a fifty-two week high of $42.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.49 and a 200-day moving average of $33.82.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts forecast that Antero Resources Co. will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Antero Resources Company 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.