UBS Group Upgrades Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) to “Neutral”

UBS Group upgraded shares of Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $35.00 target price on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $28.00.

RRC has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $37.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Range Resources from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Range Resources from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Scotiabank upgraded Range Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Range Resources from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

Range Resources Trading Up 5.9 %

Shares of NYSE:RRC opened at $35.98 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $32.79 and its 200 day moving average is $32.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Range Resources has a 1 year low of $27.29 and a 1 year high of $39.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17 and a beta of 1.85.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.16. The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Range Resources will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given 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 of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.16%.

Insider Transactions at Range Resources

In related news, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 12,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total value of $399,415.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles G. Griffie bought 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,274.66. This trade represents a 27.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Range Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RRC. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Range Resources by 4.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 15,720 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Range Resources by 13.2% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Range Resources in the second quarter worth about $110,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Range Resources during the second quarter worth about $3,274,000. Finally, TCW Group Inc. boosted its position in Range Resources by 186.5% during the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 49,824 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,671,000 after acquiring an additional 32,433 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

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.