StockNews.com Upgrades Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) to “Sell”

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on RRC. Scotiabank raised shares of Range Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America began coverage on Range Resources in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Range Resources from $37.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on Range Resources from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

Range Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:RRC opened at $35.59 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97 and a beta of 1.80. Range Resources has a twelve month low of $27.29 and a twelve month high of $39.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.16. Range Resources had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 17.63%. The business had revenue of $615.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $617.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Range Resources will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 12,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total transaction of $399,415.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,670 shares in the company, valued at $304,121.50. The trade was a 56.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles G. Griffie bought 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $31.46 per share, for a total transaction of $40,111.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $186,274.66. This trade represents a 27.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Range Resources in the first quarter worth approximately $220,000. Hancock Whitney Corp bought a new position in Range Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $232,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Range Resources by 906.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 89,940 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $3,097,000 after acquiring an additional 81,004 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Range Resources by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 15,720 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Range Resources by 2.1% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 98.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.