Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) Short Interest Update

Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,830,000 shares, a growth of 26.2% from the October 15th total of 11,750,000 shares. Approximately 6.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.1 days.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the vice president now owns 9,670 shares in the company, valued at $304,121.50. This represents a 56.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles G. Griffie bought 1,275 shares of Range Resources stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $31.46 per share, with a total value of $40,111.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,274.66. This represents a 27.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Range Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RRC. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Range Resources in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Range Resources by 107.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,359 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Range Resources in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew 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 valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Range Resources in the second quarter valued at about $67,000. 98.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on RRC. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Range Resources from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Range Resources from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Range Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens increased their target price on Range Resources from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Range Resources to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Range Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

Range Resources Trading Down 0.6 %

Range Resources stock opened at $33.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $8.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 1.80. Range Resources has a one year low of $27.29 and a one year high of $39.33. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $30.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.60.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $615.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $617.90 million. Range Resources had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Range Resources will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.