Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stake in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its position in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC - Free Report) by 85.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,273 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 72,473 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Range Resources were worth $375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Range Resources in the third quarter worth $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Range Resources by 107.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,359 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 705 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Range Resources during the third quarter worth about $49,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Range Resources in the second quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Range Resources by 276.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,306 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. 98.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on RRC. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Range Resources from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com raised Range Resources to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America began coverage on Range Resources in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Range Resources from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Range Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.00.

Range Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Range Resources stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $35.98. 1,665,931 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,321,561. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17 and a beta of 1.85. Range Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $27.29 and a 12-month high of $39.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.19.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.16. Range Resources had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The business had revenue of $615.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $617.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Range Resources Co. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Range Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.16%.

Insider Activity

In other Range Resources news, Director Charles G. Griffie acquired 1,275 shares of Range Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $31.46 per share, for a total transaction of $40,111.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $186,274.66. This represents a 27.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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.