Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Price Target Raised to $40.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) had its price objective boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from $35.00 to $40.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on RRC. Scotiabank upgraded Range Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Range Resources in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Range Resources from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Range Resources from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Range Resources from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.00.

Range Resources Price Performance

RRC stock opened at $35.59 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97 and a beta of 1.80. Range Resources has a 12 month low of $27.29 and a 12 month high of $39.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.53. 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 (NYSE:RRC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.48 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $617.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Range Resources will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Range Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Range Resources’s payout ratio is 16.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Range Resources news, Director Charles G. Griffie purchased 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $31.46 per share, with a total value of $40,111.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,921 shares in the company, valued at $186,274.66. The trade was a 27.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 12,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total transaction of $399,415.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,121.50. This trade represents a 56.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Range Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RRC. Boston Partners raised its stake in Range Resources by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,531,086 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $224,912,000 after acquiring an additional 133,565 shares during the last quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 1.5% in the second quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 6,451,726 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $216,326,000 after purchasing an additional 93,782 shares during the period. KGH Ltd raised its stake in shares of Range Resources by 3.2% in the second quarter. KGH Ltd now owns 6,080,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $203,862,000 after purchasing an additional 190,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,003,299 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $123,174,000 after purchasing an additional 35,344 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP boosted its position 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 valued at $81,299,000 after buying an additional 1,422,200 shares during the last quarter. 98.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.