Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Raised to Buy at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $45.00 price target on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $34.00.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Range Resources from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Range Resources from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group upgraded Range Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Range Resources from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Range Resources from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Range Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.16.

Range Resources Stock Up 0.7 %

RRC stock opened at $38.42 on Monday. Range Resources has a one year low of $27.29 and a one year high of $39.33. The firm has a market cap of $9.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40 and a beta of 1.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $34.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.38. 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 (NYSE:RRC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $615.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $617.90 million. Range Resources had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 17.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Range Resources will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Range Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Range Resources

In related news, Director Charles G. Griffie purchased 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $31.46 per share, for a total transaction of $40,111.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,274.66. This trade represents a 27.44 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Canoe Financial LP raised its stake in Range Resources by 114.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 valued at $48,588,000 after acquiring an additional 604,199 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Range Resources during the third quarter worth about $11,508,000. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Range Resources by 379.3% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 409,427 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $12,594,000 after purchasing an additional 324,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sagefield Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 44.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 906,886 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $30,408,000 after purchasing an additional 280,452 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

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.