Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Range Resources Corporation $RRC

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Range Resources Corporation by 32.4%, now owning approximately 331,300 shares worth about $13.2 million.
• Several analysts have issued mixed ratings on the stock, with Roth Capital downgrading it from "buy" to "neutral" and Bank of America increasing their price target from $45 to $47.
• Range Resources reported earnings of $0.66 per share for the last quarter, slightly exceeding analyst expectations, and has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC - Free Report) by 32.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 331,300 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 158,450 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.14% of Range Resources worth $13,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new stake in Range Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 48.0% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 971 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Range Resources in the first quarter valued at $39,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Range Resources by 20.6% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,078 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Range Resources by 124.9% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,582 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares in the last quarter. 98.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on RRC shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Range Resources from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Range Resources from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Roth Capital cut Range Resources from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Range Resources in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.75.

Range Resources Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of RRC stock traded down $0.20 on Monday, reaching $34.24. 1,928,658 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,336,544. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $36.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.25. Range Resources Corporation has a 52 week low of $27.55 and a 52 week high of $43.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.55.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $856.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.38 million. Range Resources had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 17.22%.During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Range Resources Corporation will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Range Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Range Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.09%.

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.