Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) Short Interest Update

Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,830,000 shares, an increase of 26.2% from the October 15th total of 11,750,000 shares. Approximately 6.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.1 days.

Insider Activity at Range Resources

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Range Resources by 191.1% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,081 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 9,243 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Range Resources by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 21,835 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Range Resources by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 493,768 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $17,000,000 after purchasing an additional 37,753 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Range Resources during the 1st quarter worth approximately $418,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Range Resources by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 159,729 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $5,499,000 after acquiring an additional 16,619 shares in the last quarter. 98.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Range Resources from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Range Resources from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Range Resources in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Range Resources from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Range Resources from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Range Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.00.

Range Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Range Resources stock opened at $33.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $8.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 1.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.60. Range Resources has a fifty-two week low of $27.29 and a fifty-two week high of $39.33.

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

Range Resources Dividend Announcement

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

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.