Analysts Set Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) Price Target at $39.84

Shares of Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.95.

Several brokerages have recently commented on RRC. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Range Resources in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays set a $43.00 price objective on Range Resources and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens increased their price objective on Range Resources from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America upgraded Range Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $34.00 to $45.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $40.00 target price on Range Resources in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Range Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RRC opened at $39.84 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.81. Range Resources has a twelve month low of $27.29 and a twelve month high of $41.95.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $626.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $676.53 million. Range Resources had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 17.63%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Range Resources will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. This is a boost from Range Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Range Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Range Resources by 71.3% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,057,280 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $181,961,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104,304 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Range Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,684,000. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Range Resources by 233.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,180,913 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $44,308,000 after purchasing an additional 826,530 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Range Resources by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,330,676 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $263,768,000 after purchasing an additional 624,955 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Range Resources by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,238,863 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $80,554,000 after purchasing an additional 605,315 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.