Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Upgraded at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $42.00 target price on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock.

RRC has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays raised shares of Range Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $35.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Range Resources from $37.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Range Resources in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Range Resources to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Range Resources from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Range Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.32.

Range Resources Trading Down 0.4 %

RRC stock opened at $35.91 on Friday. Range Resources has a 1-year low of $27.29 and a 1-year high of $39.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business’s 50 day moving average is $34.13 and its 200-day moving average is $32.23. The firm has a market cap of $8.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 1.81.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $615.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $617.90 million. Range Resources had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 17.63%. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Range Resources will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Range Resources

In other news, Director Charles G. Griffie acquired 1,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $31.46 per share, for a total transaction of $40,111.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,921 shares in the company, valued at $186,274.66. This trade represents a 27.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Range Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RRC. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Range Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 107.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,359 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Range Resources during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Range Resources by 276.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,306 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the period. 98.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.