HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 117,434 Shares of Range Resources Corporation $RRC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors cut its Range Resources stake by 48.7% in the second quarter, selling 117,434 shares and retaining 123,469 shares worth approximately $4.6 million.
• Range Resources exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.79 EPS versus the $0.66 consensus and $759.6 million in revenue, though revenue declined 2.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with the stock carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $43.88; shares recently traded at $41.17. The company also declared a $0.10 quarterly dividend, yielding about 1.0% annually.

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC - Free Report) by 48.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 123,469 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 117,434 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Range Resources worth $4,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Range Resources in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in Range Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Range Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Range Resources in the second quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Range Resources by 37.8% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. 98.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Reginal Spiller sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $140,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $536,840. This represents a 20.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Range Resources Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:RRC opened at $41.17 on Friday. Range Resources Corporation has a 12-month low of $32.68 and a 12-month high of $48.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $9.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.57.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Range Resources Corporation will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Range Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on RRC. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Range Resources from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Range Resources from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Range Resources from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group set a $42.00 price objective on Range Resources in a research note on Tuesday. 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Range Resources presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $43.88.

Range Resources Company Profile

Range Resources Corporation NYSE: RRC is an independent natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and oil exploration and production company. Its activities include acquiring, developing and operating unconventional properties, with a primary focus on the Marcellus Shale in the Appalachian Basin.

The company's production portfolio is centered on natural gas, along with NGLs such as ethane, propane, butane and natural gasoline, as well as condensate and oil. Range Resources also manages related gathering, processing, transportation and marketing activities to move its products from production areas to end markets.

Founded in 1976, Range Resources has built its operations through exploration, development and acquisitions in U.S.

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