M&T Bank Corp Grows Position in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC)

M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,790 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Range Resources were worth $332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Range Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Range Resources by 107.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Range Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Range Resources by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,709 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Range Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

Range Resources Price Performance

RRC opened at $32.92 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $33.06 and a 200-day moving average of $32.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. Range Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $27.29 and a 1-year high of $39.33.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.16. Range Resources had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 17.63%. The firm had revenue of $615.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $617.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Range Resources’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Range Resources Co. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on RRC. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Range Resources to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Range Resources from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group upgraded Range Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $28.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Range Resources from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Mizuho increased 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Range Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 12,700 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,121.50. This represents a 56.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles G. Griffie acquired 1,275 shares of Range Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $31.46 per share, with a total value of $40,111.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Range Resources 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.