Van ECK Associates Corp Has $4.74 Million Stake in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC - Free Report) by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 153,119 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after acquiring an additional 43,753 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Range Resources worth $4,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Range Resources by 21.2% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,709 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Range Resources by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,801 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC boosted its position in Range Resources by 3.6% during the third quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 12,536 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Orser Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Range Resources by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Orser Capital Management LLC now owns 53,993 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $1,661,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its stake in shares of Range Resources by 6.0% during the second quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 10,650 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. 98.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RRC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Range Resources from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Scotiabank raised Range Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $45.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Range Resources from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Range Resources from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.00.

Range Resources Price Performance

RRC traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.03. 1,407,258 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,571,737. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68 and a beta of 1.80. Range Resources Co. has a one year low of $27.29 and a one year high of $39.33.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 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 earned $0.43 EPS. Range Resources's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Range Resources Co. will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Range Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Range Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Range Resources news, Director Charles G. Griffie purchased 1,275 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $31.46 per share, for a total transaction of $40,111.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $186,274.66. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 12,700 shares of the business'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 owns 9,670 shares in the company, valued at $304,121.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles G. Griffie purchased 1,275 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $31.46 per share, for a total transaction of $40,111.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $186,274.66. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.57% of the company's stock.

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.