T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Sells 317,483 Shares of Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,507,616 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 317,483 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 6.43% of Range Resources worth $557,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Range Resources by 87.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,148 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Range Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Range Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Range Resources by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,544 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.93% of the company's stock.

Range Resources Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE RRC opened at $33.18 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Range Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $27.29 and a twelve month high of $41.95. The company's fifty day moving average is $36.99 and its 200-day moving average is $35.70. The stock has a market cap of $8.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.73.

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

Range Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. This is a boost from Range Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Range Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Range Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Range Resources in a report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America raised shares of Range Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Stephens set a $51.00 price target on shares of Range Resources and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $41.00 price target on shares of Range Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.62.

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.

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