Royal Bank of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Stock Price

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) had its target price increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $35.00 to $40.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Scotiabank upgraded Range Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays upgraded 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 research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stephens boosted their price objective on Range Resources from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Range Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Range Resources from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Range Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Range Resources Price Performance

Shares of RRC opened at $35.88 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $8.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12 and a beta of 1.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.74 and a 200-day moving average of $32.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Range Resources has a 52 week low of $27.29 and a 52 week high of $39.33.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $615.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $617.90 million. Range Resources had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 17.63%. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Range Resources will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Range Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.16%.

Insider Transactions at Range Resources

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 value of $399,415.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,121.50. The trade was a 56.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles G. Griffie bought 1,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $31.46 per share, for a total transaction of $40,111.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $186,274.66. The trade was a 27.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Range Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RRC. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Range Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 107.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,359 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Range Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,709 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Range Resources during the second quarter valued at $67,000. 98.93% of the stock is currently 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.