Stephens Raises Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Price Target to $36.00

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Stephens from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and gas exploration company's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Range Resources from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Range Resources in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays upgraded shares of Range Resources from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Range Resources from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.06.

Range Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RRC traded up $0.10 during trading on Thursday, hitting $29.87. 2,896,399 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,346,447. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $30.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.23. Range Resources has a 52-week low of $27.29 and a 52-week high of $39.33.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $641.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $610.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Range Resources will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Range Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Range Resources's payout ratio is 16.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 12,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $304,121.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 added to or reduced their stakes in RRC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Range Resources by 25.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,633,567 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $985,855,000 after purchasing an additional 5,759,883 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Range Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $78,223,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Range Resources by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,490,639 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $843,213,000 after buying an additional 959,011 shares during the last quarter. Herr Investment Group LLC grew its position in Range Resources by 4,594.4% in the 1st quarter. Herr Investment Group LLC now owns 497,611 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $17,133,000 after buying an additional 487,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagefield Capital LP grew its position in Range Resources by 44.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 906,886 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $30,408,000 after buying an additional 280,452 shares during the last quarter. 98.93% of the stock is 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.