Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) to a sell rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Range Resources in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Range Resources from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Range Resources from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Range Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Range Resources from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Range Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.00.

Range Resources Stock Performance

NYSE RRC opened at $33.46 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.90 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Range Resources has a 1 year low of $27.29 and a 1 year high of $39.33.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.16. Range Resources had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 17.63%. The company had revenue of $615.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $617.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Range Resources will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.16%.

Insider Transactions at Range Resources

In related news, Director Charles G. Griffie purchased 1,275 shares of Range Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $31.46 per share, for a total transaction of $40,111.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $186,274.66. This represents a 27.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 12,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total value of $399,415.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,121.50. This represents a 56.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 11.6% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 159,729 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $5,499,000 after purchasing an additional 16,619 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Range Resources by 25.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,633,567 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $985,855,000 after acquiring an additional 5,759,883 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Range Resources by 186.5% in the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 49,824 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,671,000 after acquiring an additional 32,433 shares during the last quarter. Mariner Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Range Resources during the third quarter valued at $1,077,000. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Range Resources by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,531,086 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $224,912,000 after purchasing an additional 133,565 shares during the last quarter. 98.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Range Resources Company Profile

Range Resources Corporation operates as an independent natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil, and condensate company in the United States. The company engages in the exploration, development, and acquisition of natural gas and crude oil properties located in the Appalachian region. It sells natural gas to utilities, marketing and midstream companies, and industrial users; NGLs to petrochemical end users, marketers/traders, and natural gas processors; and oil and condensate to crude oil processors, transporters, and refining and marketing companies.