Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Upgraded by Barclays to “Equal Weight”

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) was upgraded by Barclays from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $34.00 price target on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $35.00. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 10.10% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on RRC. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Range Resources from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Range Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Range Resources from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $35.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Range Resources from $37.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.68.

Range Resources Price Performance

NYSE:RRC opened at $30.88 on Wednesday. Range Resources has a 1-year low of $27.29 and a 1-year high of $39.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.41. The firm has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 1.80.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.05. Range Resources had a net margin of 17.62% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The business had revenue of $641.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $610.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Range Resources will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Range Resources

In related news, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 12,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total transaction of $399,415.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,121.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RRC. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Range Resources by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 114,137 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $3,474,000 after purchasing an additional 4,297 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Range Resources by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 237,589 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $7,232,000 after purchasing an additional 10,436 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its stake in Range Resources by 169.1% in the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 33,420 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after buying an additional 20,999 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its holdings in Range Resources by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 528,042 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $16,074,000 after purchasing an additional 148,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in shares of Range Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $673,000. 98.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.