Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $42.0556.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Range Resources from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Range Resources from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Range Resources from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Barclays upgraded shares of Range Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Range Resources

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RRC. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in Range Resources during the first quarter worth about $392,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Range Resources by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 75,851 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $3,029,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Range Resources by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 466,796 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $18,639,000 after acquiring an additional 8,816 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Range Resources during the 1st quarter worth about $126,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in shares of Range Resources in the first quarter worth approximately $285,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

Range Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:RRC opened at $33.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.51. Range Resources has a twelve month low of $30.32 and a twelve month high of $43.50.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.03. Range Resources had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 15.99%. The company had revenue of $655.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $721.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Range Resources will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Range Resources’s payout ratio is 15.13%.

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.