Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Rating Increased to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $49.00 target price on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $40.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Range Resources from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays set a $43.00 price target on Range Resources and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Williams Trading set a $40.00 price objective on Range Resources in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Range Resources from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Range Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Range Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.89.

Range Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RRC opened at $39.84 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.02. 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 earnings results 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. Range Resources had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 17.63%. The company had revenue of $626.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $676.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Range Resources will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Range Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 positive change from Range Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Range Resources

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Range Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $33,684,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Range Resources by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,094 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 1,756 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,046 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 1,293 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Range Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,645,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Range Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $3,001,000. 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.