Range Resources’ (RRC) Overweight Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Stephens reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $49.00 price target on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $41.00 price target on shares of Range Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Roth Mkm raised shares of Range Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $41.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Range Resources in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Range Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Range Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.50.

Range Resources Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of Range Resources stock opened at $34.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.73. Range Resources has a 52-week low of $27.29 and a 52-week high of $41.95. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $626.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Range Resources will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Range Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. This is a positive change from Range Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Range Resources by 87.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Range Resources by 48.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 971 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,148 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Range Resources in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Range Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. 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.