Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Range Resources (NYSE:RRC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Friday.

RRC has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Range Resources from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Range Resources from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Range Resources in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Range Resources from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Range Resources from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.11.

Remove Ads

Range Resources Price Performance

NYSE RRC traded up $1.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $36.51. The company had a trading volume of 2,877,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,315,010. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.80. Range Resources has a 52 week low of $27.29 and a 52 week high of $41.95. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.19.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.13. Range Resources had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The firm had revenue of $626.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $676.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Range Resources will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Range Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This is an increase from Range Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Range Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Range Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RRC. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Range Resources by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,790 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 5.7% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 6,848 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Range Resources by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,435 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Range Resources by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 14,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its position in Range Resources by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 31,410 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $1,130,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.93% 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.