Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) Shares Acquired by Easterly Investment Partners LLC

Easterly Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 144,959 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,400 shares during the quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Range Resources worth $5,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Range Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Range Resources by 87.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Range Resources by 59.0% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,148 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Range Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,544 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. 98.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Range Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Range Resources stock opened at $39.84 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.02. Range Resources Co. has a 12 month low of $27.29 and a 12 month high of $41.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.80. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $626.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $676.53 million. Range Resources had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 17.63%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Range Resources Co. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Range Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. This is an increase from Range Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on RRC shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Range Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $49.00 in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Range Resources from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Range Resources from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Williams Trading set a $40.00 price objective on Range Resources in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Range Resources in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Range Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.89.

Range Resources 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.