Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Cut to Sector Perform at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $39.00 target price on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $36.00.

RRC has been the subject of several other research reports. Mizuho reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of Range Resources in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Range Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Range Resources in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an underweight rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Range Resources currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $36.65.

Range Resources Stock Down 0.9 %

RRC opened at $37.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $33.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.40. The company has a market cap of $9.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94 and a beta of 1.83. Range Resources has a 1 year low of $23.92 and a 1 year high of $38.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.21. Range Resources had a net margin of 17.00% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The company had revenue of $718.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $680.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. Range Resources’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Range Resources will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Range Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 15,978 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $603,169.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $844,467.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of RRC. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Range Resources during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Range Resources by 333.0% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 866 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Range Resources during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Range Resources by 267.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Range Resources by 57.7% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,339 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. 98.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.