Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Price Target Raised to $40.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) had its price target lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from $35.00 to $40.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on RRC. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Range Resources from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Range Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna cut their target price on Range Resources from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Range Resources from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.00.

Range Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RRC opened at $35.59 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97 and a beta of 1.80. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $31.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.55. 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 has a twelve month low of $27.29 and a twelve month high of $39.33.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.16. Range Resources had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 17.63%. The company had revenue of $615.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $617.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Range Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Range Resources will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charles G. Griffie acquired 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $31.46 per share, for a total transaction of $40,111.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,274.66. This trade represents a 27.44 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 12,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total value of $399,415.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,121.50. This represents a 56.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Range Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Range Resources by 135.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 112,008 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $3,445,000 after purchasing an additional 64,443 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 32,433 shares during the last quarter. Mariner Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Range Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $1,077,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Range Resources by 26.2% in the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,186,310 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $39,777,000 after buying an additional 246,172 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in Range Resources by 2.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,531,086 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $224,912,000 after acquiring an additional 133,565 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

Range Resources Company Profile

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.