Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) saw a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 13,040,000 shares, a growth of 19.7% from the February 13th total of 10,890,000 shares. Approximately 5.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,690,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,094 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 1,756 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,046 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 1,293 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Range Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $2,645,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Range Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $3,001,000. Finally, Castleark Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 324.2% in the fourth quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 223,910 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $8,056,000 after buying an additional 171,130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RRC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Range Resources from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup downgraded Range Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho raised their target price on Range Resources from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Range Resources in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Range Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Range Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.95.

Range Resources Price Performance

NYSE:RRC traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $40.26. 292,710 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,290,036. Range Resources has a one year low of $27.29 and a one year high of $41.95. The company has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.80. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $38.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

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

Range Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This is a boost from Range Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Range Resources’s payout ratio is presently 32.73%.

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.