Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,990,000 shares, a drop of 24.9% from the January 15th total of 14,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days. Approximately 4.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on RRC. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Range Resources in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on Range Resources from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded Range Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Range Resources to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Range Resources from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Range Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.78.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Range Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Range Resources by 276.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,306 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in Range Resources by 2.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 56,744 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Range Resources by 107.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,359 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Range Resources by 4.2% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 260,043 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $7,999,000 after purchasing an additional 10,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Range Resources by 2,976.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 61,520 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $2,000,000 after purchasing an additional 59,520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

Range Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RRC traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $38.68. 2,199,815 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,545,791. Range Resources has a 12 month low of $27.29 and a 12 month high of $41.95. The firm has a market cap of $9.33 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.34. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.16%.

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.