Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Upgraded to “Buy” at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $45.00 target price on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $34.00.

RRC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Range Resources from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. StockNews.com raised Range Resources to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wolfe Research raised Range Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Range Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Range Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.16.

Range Resources Stock Up 0.7 %

Range Resources stock opened at $38.42 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $9.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40 and a beta of 1.81. Range Resources has a fifty-two week low of $27.29 and a fifty-two week high of $39.33.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last issued 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 analyst estimates of $617.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Range Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Range Resources will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Range Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Range Resources’s payout ratio is 16.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Range Resources

In other Range Resources news, Director Charles G. Griffie bought 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 5,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $186,274.66. This represents a 27.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Range Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lingotto Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in Range Resources by 1.5% in the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 93,782 shares during the last quarter. KGH Ltd grew its position 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 valued at $203,862,000 after purchasing an additional 190,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,003,299 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $123,174,000 after purchasing an additional 35,344 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in Range Resources by 114.9% during the third quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 2,660,309 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $81,299,000 after buying an additional 1,422,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Range Resources by 4.8% during the third 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. 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.