Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Downgraded to "Sell" Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Range Resources (NYSE:RRC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on RRC. Wolfe Research raised Range Resources from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Stephens lifted their price objective on Range Resources from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Range Resources from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $43.00 to $45.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Williams Trading set a $40.00 price target on shares of Range Resources in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.95.

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Range Resources Price Performance

Shares of Range Resources stock traded down $0.44 on Wednesday, hitting $39.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,211,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,296,168. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.81. Range Resources has a 52-week low of $27.29 and a 52-week high of $41.95. The company has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.80.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.13. Range Resources had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The business had revenue of $626.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $676.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Range Resources will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. This is a boost from Range Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Range Resources's payout ratio is presently 32.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Range Resources by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,819 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $2,025,000 after acquiring an additional 16,134 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Range Resources by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,696 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in Range Resources by 3.7% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 89,683 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $2,759,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares during the period. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in shares of Range Resources by 5.7% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 6,848 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Range Resources by 4.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,017,704 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $62,065,000 after buying an additional 92,217 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.93% 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.