Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 64,443 Shares of Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC - Free Report) by 135.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 112,008 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after acquiring an additional 64,443 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Range Resources were worth $3,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of RRC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Range Resources by 191.1% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,081 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 9,243 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 6.8% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 21,835 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Range Resources by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 493,768 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $17,000,000 after buying an additional 37,753 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Range Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $418,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Range Resources by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 159,729 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $5,499,000 after purchasing an additional 16,619 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.93% of the company's stock.

Range Resources Price Performance

Shares of Range Resources stock traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $33.63. 1,725,713 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,354,558. The company has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12 and a beta of 1.80. Range Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.29 and a fifty-two week high of $39.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.64.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.16. Range Resources had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 17.63%. The company had revenue of $615.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $617.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Range Resources Co. will post 1.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Range Resources's payout ratio is currently 16.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RRC. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Range Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Range Resources from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Range Resources from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Range Resources from $37.00 to $31.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. 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 research report on Friday, October 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.00.

Insider Transactions at Range Resources

In other news, Director Charles G. Griffie acquired 1,275 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $31.46 per share, for a total transaction of $40,111.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,921 shares in the company, valued at $186,274.66. This represents a 27.44 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 12,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total value of $399,415.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,121.50. This trade represents a 56.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.