Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Upgraded at Bank of America

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

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on RRC. 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, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Range Resources to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Range Resources from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.16.

Range Resources Stock Performance

Shares of RRC stock opened at $40.36 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.38 and a beta of 1.81. 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 has a 52 week low of $27.29 and a 52 week high of $40.60.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $615.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $617.90 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. Range Resources’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Range Resources will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Range Resources’s payout ratio is currently 16.16%.

Insider Activity

In other Range Resources news, Director Charles G. Griffie bought 1,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $31.46 per share, for a total transaction of $40,111.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,274.66. This represents a 27.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Range Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RRC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 604,199 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Range Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $11,508,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Range Resources by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,017,704 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $62,065,000 after buying an additional 92,217 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Range Resources by 135.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 112,008 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $3,445,000 after acquiring an additional 64,443 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 59.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 131,571 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $4,045,000 after acquiring an additional 49,276 shares in the last quarter. 98.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.