Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) Receives $36.00 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.32.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RRC. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Range Resources from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Range Resources from $37.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Wolfe Research upgraded Range Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Range Resources from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles G. Griffie bought 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $31.46 per share, with a total value of $40,111.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,921 shares in the company, valued at $186,274.66. This represents a 27.44 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Range Resources

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Range Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $78,223,000. Canoe Financial LP lifted its stake in Range Resources by 114.9% in the third quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 2,660,309 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $81,299,000 after acquiring an additional 1,422,200 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Range Resources by 61.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,579,579 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $48,588,000 after acquiring an additional 604,199 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Range Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,508,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Range Resources by 379.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 409,427 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $12,594,000 after purchasing an additional 324,011 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

Range Resources Price Performance

NYSE:RRC opened at $35.91 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 1.85. The business’s 50-day moving average is $34.13 and its 200 day moving average is $32.26. 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 has a 12 month low of $27.29 and a 12 month high of $39.33.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last posted its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $617.90 million. Range Resources had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 13.69%. Range Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Range Resources will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Dividend Announcement

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

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.