KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes $1.80 Million Position in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 49,900 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,795,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RRC. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $332,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 5.7% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 6,848 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Range Resources by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,435 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Range Resources by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 14,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in Range Resources by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 31,410 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,130,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. 98.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Range Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Range Resources from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Range Resources from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Stephens boosted their price target on Range Resources from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $40.00 price objective on Range Resources in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Range Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.89.

Range Resources Trading Down 2.4 %

NYSE RRC opened at $38.86 on Friday. Range Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $27.29 and a 12-month high of $41.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $9.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $626.42 million during 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Range Resources Co. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Range Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Range Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Range Resources’s payout ratio is currently 32.73%.

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.