LPL Financial LLC Cuts Stake in Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC)

LPL Financial LLC lowered its position in shares of Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 109,707 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 4,093 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Range Resources were worth $4,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Range Resources by 98.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,035 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 8,941 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Range Resources by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 423,822 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $15,249,000 after purchasing an additional 83,353 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council bought a new stake in Range Resources during the first quarter valued at about $622,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new stake in Range Resources during the first quarter valued at about $612,000. Finally, Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC boosted its position in Range Resources by 1.8% during the first quarter. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC now owns 1,435,376 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $57,803,000 after purchasing an additional 25,403 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

Range Resources Trading Down 0.4%

Range Resources stock opened at $34.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Range Resources Corporation has a 52 week low of $27.55 and a 52 week high of $43.50. The company has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $38.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.60.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $856.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.38 million. Range Resources had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 17.22%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Range Resources Corporation will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Range Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RRC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Range Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Mizuho raised their price objective on Range Resources from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Range Resources from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Range Resources in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Range Resources from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Reginal Spiller sold 4,200 shares of Range Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.16, for a total transaction of $168,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $548,706.08. This trade represents a 23.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.00% 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.