Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Upgraded to Sell at StockNews.com

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

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Range Resources from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Range Resources from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Range Resources from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stephens upped their price target on Range Resources from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Range Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Range Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

Range Resources Stock Down 0.8 %

RRC opened at $33.63 on Tuesday. Range Resources has a fifty-two week low of $27.29 and a fifty-two week high of $39.33. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98 and a beta of 1.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.65.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $615.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $617.90 million. Range Resources had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Range Resources will post 1.89 EPS for the current year.

Range Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Range Resources’s payout ratio is presently 16.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Range Resources

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Range Resources by 11.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 16,619 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Range Resources by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,633,567 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $985,855,000 after acquiring an additional 5,759,883 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 186.5% during the 2nd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 49,824 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,671,000 after acquiring an additional 32,433 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Range Resources by 2.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,531,086 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $224,912,000 after acquiring an additional 133,565 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 26.2% during the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,186,310 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $39,777,000 after purchasing an additional 246,172 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

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.