374,108 Shares in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) Acquired by HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 374,108 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,508,000. Range Resources makes up about 1.3% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Range Resources at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lingotto Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Range Resources by 1.5% in the second quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 6,451,726 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $216,326,000 after acquiring an additional 93,782 shares in the last quarter. KGH Ltd raised its stake in shares of Range Resources by 3.2% in the second quarter. KGH Ltd now owns 6,080,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $203,862,000 after purchasing an additional 190,000 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Range Resources by 114.9% in the third quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 2,660,309 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $81,299,000 after acquiring an additional 1,422,200 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Range Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $78,223,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Range Resources by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,017,704 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $62,065,000 after acquiring an additional 92,217 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 12,700 shares of Range Resources stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total transaction of $399,415.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,670 shares in the company, valued at $304,121.50. This trade represents a 56.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles G. Griffie purchased 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $31.46 per share, for a total transaction of $40,111.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,274.66. This trade represents a 27.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Range Resources Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of RRC stock opened at $34.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 1.85. Range Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $27.29 and a 12-month high of $39.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $32.19 and its 200 day moving average is $32.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Range Resources Co. will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Range Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Range Resources from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Mizuho cut their target price on Range Resources from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Range Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Range Resources from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Range Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

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.