Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Rating Lowered to Sector Perform at Royal Bank of Canada

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) was downgraded by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $39.00 price objective on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $36.00. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 3.48% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Range Resources from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their price objective on Range Resources from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Range Resources from $23.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Scotiabank cut shares of Range Resources from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Range Resources in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.55.

Range Resources Price Performance

Shares of RRC opened at $37.69 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.40. The stock has a market cap of $9.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13 and a beta of 1.83. Range Resources has a 1-year low of $23.92 and a 1-year high of $38.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $718.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $680.72 million. Range Resources had a net margin of 17.00% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Range Resources will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Range Resources

In other news, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 15,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $603,169.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $844,467.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Range Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Range Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 333.0% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 866 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Range Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Range Resources by 267.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Range Resources by 57.7% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,339 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. 98.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.