Fisher Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC)

Fisher Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,014,056 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 88,326 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Range Resources were worth $36,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of RRC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Range Resources by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,579,579 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $48,588,000 after buying an additional 604,199 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Range Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,508,000. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in Range Resources by 379.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 409,427 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $12,594,000 after buying an additional 324,011 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP increased its stake in Range Resources by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 2,911,509 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $104,595,000 after purchasing an additional 251,200 shares during the period. Finally, Lingotto Investment Management LLP increased its stake in Range Resources by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 6,864,038 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $246,968,000 after purchasing an additional 165,242 shares during the period. 98.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Range Resources Stock Performance

Shares of RRC opened at $37.11 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $37.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.77. Range Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $27.29 and a 52-week high of $41.95.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $626.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $676.53 million. Range Resources had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 17.63%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Range Resources Co. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. This is an increase from Range Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 29.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Range Resources in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays set a $43.00 price target on shares of Range Resources and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Range Resources from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Range Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank lowered shares of Range Resources from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.00.

About Range Resources

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.