Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC)

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 20,326 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, valued at approximately $682,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RRC. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Range Resources during the second quarter worth about $1,706,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its position in Range Resources by 72.1% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 155,369 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $5,210,000 after buying an additional 65,095 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its position in Range Resources by 79.1% during the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 31,020 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,040,000 after buying an additional 13,700 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Range Resources during the second quarter worth about $838,000. Finally, Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC grew its position in Range Resources by 11.0% during the second quarter. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC now owns 1,374,201 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $46,077,000 after buying an additional 136,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Range Resources news, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 12,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $304,121.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Range Resources Stock Performance

Shares of RRC opened at $31.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79 and a beta of 1.80. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.47. Range Resources Co. has a 1 year low of $27.29 and a 1 year high of $39.33.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $641.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $610.24 million. Range Resources had a net margin of 17.62% and a return on equity of 13.93%. Range Resources’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Range Resources Co. will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Range Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on RRC shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Range Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Range Resources in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Range Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Range Resources from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Range Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Range Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.10.

Range Resources 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.