Stifel Nicolaus Begins Coverage on Range Resources (NYSE:RRC)

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage of Range Resources with a “hold” rating and a $46 price target, implying approximately 11.2% upside from the reported share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Range Resources has a consensus “hold” rating and an average price target of $43.88, based on one strong buy, three buys, fifteen holds, and one sell.
• Range Resources exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.79 in EPS versus the $0.66 consensus and $759.6 million in revenue; however, revenue declined 2.7% year over year. Institutional investors own approximately 98.93% of the company.

Equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Range Resources (NYSE:RRC - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The brokerage set a "hold" rating and a $46.00 price target on the oil and gas exploration company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price target suggests a potential upside of 11.21% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on RRC. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Range Resources from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Range Resources from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Range Resources in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on Range Resources from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $43.88.

Range Resources Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:RRC traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $41.36. 88,878 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,145,796. The company has a fifty day moving average of $39.41 and a 200 day moving average of $40.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. Range Resources has a twelve month low of $32.68 and a twelve month high of $48.31. The company has a market capitalization of $9.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 0.43.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.13. Range Resources had a return on equity of 18.63% and a net margin of 25.04%.The business had revenue of $759.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $744.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Range Resources will post 3.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Reginal Spiller sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $140,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,421 shares in the company, valued at $536,840. This trade represents a 20.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Range Resources

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RRC. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its position in shares of Range Resources by 49.8% in the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,281,975 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $45,202,000 after purchasing an additional 426,300 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Range Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $21,129,000. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in shares of Range Resources during the second quarter worth approximately $2,220,000. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Range Resources by 321.3% in the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 52,114 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $2,355,000 after purchasing an additional 39,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bornite Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Range Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $28,208,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.93% of the company's stock.

Range Resources Company Profile

Range Resources Corporation, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids. The company focuses its core operations on the Appalachian Basin, with a significant presence in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale. Through its drilling and completion activities, Range Resources seeks to optimize production efficiency while maintaining a disciplined approach to capital allocation and cost management.

The company's technical expertise centers on advanced horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques, which it applies to unlock unconventional resources.

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