Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) by 30.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 560,093 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 247,455 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Range Resources worth $17,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Range Resources by 5.4% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,801 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its holdings in Range Resources by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 6,848 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC raised its position in Range Resources by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 12,536 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orser Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 1.0% during 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

Range Resources Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE RRC opened at $34.79 on Friday. Range Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $27.29 and a 1-year high of $39.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business’s 50 day moving average is $33.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57 and a beta of 1.85.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $615.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $617.90 million. Range Resources had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Range Resources Co. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Range Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Range Resources’s payout ratio is currently 16.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Range Resources

In related news, Director Charles G. Griffie acquired 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $186,274.66. This represents a 27.44 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RRC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Range Resources from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. StockNews.com raised Range Resources to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Range Resources from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Range Resources from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.00.

Range Resources 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.