HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Makes New $11.51 Million Investment in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC)

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

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Range Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $78,223,000. Canoe Financial LP raised its stake in Range Resources by 114.9% during the third quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 2,660,309 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $81,299,000 after buying an additional 1,422,200 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Range Resources by 379.3% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 409,427 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $12,594,000 after purchasing an additional 324,011 shares during the period. Sagefield Capital LP boosted its stake in Range Resources by 44.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 906,886 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $30,408,000 after purchasing an additional 280,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Range Resources by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,186,310 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $39,777,000 after acquiring an additional 246,172 shares in the last quarter. 98.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised Range Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Range Resources from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Range Resources from $37.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Range Resources from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Range Resources from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Range Resources Stock Down 2.3 %

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

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.16. Range Resources had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The firm had revenue of $615.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $617.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Range Resources Co. will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Range Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.16%.

Insider Activity

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

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.