Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Range Resources Corporation $RRC

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 52,500 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RRC. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Range Resources by 2.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 75,851 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $3,029,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Range Resources by 1.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 466,796 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $18,639,000 after acquiring an additional 8,816 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in shares of Range Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $285,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Range Resources by 63.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Range Resources by 8.0% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 410,651 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $16,701,000 after acquiring an additional 30,481 shares during the last quarter. 98.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Range Resources

In other news, Director Reginal Spiller sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $140,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $536,840. This represents a 20.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Range Resources Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE RRC opened at $41.52 on Friday. Range Resources Corporation has a 1-year low of $32.68 and a 1-year high of $48.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $38.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.25. The company has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 0.42.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.13. Range Resources had a return on equity of 18.63% and a net margin of 25.04%.The business had revenue of $759.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $744.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. Range Resources’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Range Resources Corporation will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on RRC shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Range Resources from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays decreased their target price on Range Resources from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Range Resources from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Range Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Range Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.75.

Range Resources Company Profile

Range Resources Corporation, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids. The company focuses its core operations on the Appalachian Basin, with a significant presence in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale. Through its drilling and completion activities, Range Resources seeks to optimize production efficiency while maintaining a disciplined approach to capital allocation and cost management.

The company’s technical expertise centers on advanced horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques, which it applies to unlock unconventional resources.