Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on RRC. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Range Resources from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on Range Resources from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Stephens boosted their price objective on Range Resources from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Susquehanna cut their target price on Range Resources from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Range Resources in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.75.

Range Resources Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE RRC opened at $40.75 on Wednesday. Range Resources has a 52 week low of $32.68 and a 52 week high of $48.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market capitalization of $9.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $38.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.06.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $759.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $744.78 million. Range Resources had a net margin of 25.04% and a return on equity of 18.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Range Resources will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Reginal Spiller sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $140,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $536,840. This represents a 20.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Range Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RRC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Range Resources by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 27,660,494 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $975,311,000 after buying an additional 326,748 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,553,637 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $901,021,000 after acquiring an additional 701,751 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Range Resources in the second quarter worth about $868,085,000. Boston Partners grew its position in Range Resources by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 13,467,808 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $474,585,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Range Resources by 2.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,192,740 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $415,354,000 after acquiring an additional 227,711 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

About Range Resources

Range Resources Corporation, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids. The company focuses its core operations on the Appalachian Basin, with a significant presence in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale. Through its drilling and completion activities, Range Resources seeks to optimize production efficiency while maintaining a disciplined approach to capital allocation and cost management.

The company’s technical expertise centers on advanced horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques, which it applies to unlock unconventional resources.