Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) Shares Purchased by Easterly Investment Partners LLC

Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 144,959 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after buying an additional 24,400 shares during the quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Range Resources were worth $5,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Range Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $825,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in Range Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $212,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its holdings in Range Resources by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 79,037 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $2,844,000 after acquiring an additional 5,160 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Range Resources by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 113,800 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $4,095,000 after acquiring an additional 21,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Range Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,795,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

Range Resources Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:RRC opened at $39.84 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $38.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. Range Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $27.29 and a 1-year high of $41.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.80.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $626.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Range Resources Co. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Range Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. This is an increase from Range Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RRC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Range Resources from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America raised Range Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Range Resources from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays set a $43.00 price target on Range Resources and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.89.

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.