Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Upgraded 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 published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $49.00 price objective on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $40.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho raised their price target on Range Resources from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup downgraded Range Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Range Resources from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Range Resources from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $43.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Range Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.89.

Range Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RRC opened at $39.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.12. Range Resources has a fifty-two week low of $27.29 and a fifty-two week high of $41.95. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $626.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $676.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Range Resources will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Range Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.73%.

Institutional Trading of Range Resources

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Range Resources by 71.3% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,057,280 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $181,961,000 after buying an additional 2,104,304 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Range Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,684,000. Amundi increased its position in Range Resources by 233.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,180,913 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $44,308,000 after purchasing an additional 826,530 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Range Resources by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,330,676 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $263,768,000 after purchasing an additional 624,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Range Resources by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,238,863 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $80,554,000 after purchasing an additional 605,315 shares during the period. 98.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.