Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC)

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) by 1,492.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 335,914 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after buying an additional 314,823 shares during the quarter. Range Resources makes up 1.0% of Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC owned 0.14% of Range Resources worth $12,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Range Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Range Resources by 87.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Range Resources by 59.0% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,148 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Range Resources in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Range Resources by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,544 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

Range Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:RRC opened at $37.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $38.23 and its 200 day moving average is $34.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.80. Range Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.29 and a fifty-two week high of $41.95.

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

Range Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Range Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Range Resources’s payout ratio is 32.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RRC. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Range Resources in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Range Resources in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Range Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Range Resources from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Range Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.84.

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.