VELA Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC)

VELA Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) by 50.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,286 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,462 shares during the period. Range Resources comprises approximately 1.2% of VELA Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. VELA Investment Management LLC owned 0.05% of Range Resources worth $3,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RRC. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Range Resources by 21.2% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,709 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Range Resources by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,801 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Inscription Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Range Resources by 3.6% in the third quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 12,536 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Orser Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Range Resources by 1.0% in the third quarter. Orser Capital Management LLC now owns 53,993 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,661,000 after buying an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. raised its position in shares of Range Resources by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 10,650 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on RRC. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Range Resources from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Range Resources from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Range Resources from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Range Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Range Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 12,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,670 shares in the company, valued at $304,121.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 12,700 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,670 shares in the company, valued at $304,121.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles G. Griffie acquired 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $31.46 per share, for a total transaction of $40,111.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $186,274.66. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Range Resources Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:RRC traded down $0.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.82. The stock had a trading volume of 2,567,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,371,878. Range Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.29 and a fifty-two week high of $39.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.85. 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 has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.06 and a beta of 1.80.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $617.90 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Range Resources Co. will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Range Resources’s payout ratio is 16.16%.

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.