Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 72,473 Shares of Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) by 85.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,273 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 72,473 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Range Resources were worth $375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Range Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,508,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Range Resources by 4.8% during 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 last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Range Resources by 135.5% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 112,008 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $3,445,000 after buying an additional 64,443 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Range Resources by 59.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 131,571 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $4,045,000 after acquiring an additional 49,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Range Resources by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,819 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $2,025,000 after acquiring an additional 16,134 shares during the period. 98.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RRC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised Range Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $35.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America began coverage on Range Resources in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. Stephens upped their price target on Range Resources from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Range Resources from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.00.

Range Resources Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Range Resources stock opened at $35.98 on Wednesday. Range Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $27.29 and a 52-week high of $39.33. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.19. The firm has a market cap of $8.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.17 and a beta of 1.85.

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

Range Resources Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Range Resources

In other news, 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 acquired at an average cost of $31.46 per share, with a total value of $40,111.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $186,274.66. This represents a 27.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.