Sciencast Management LP Takes Position in Range Resources Corporation $RRC

Key Points

• Sciencast Management LP has invested $733,000 in Range Resources Corporation, acquiring 18,354 shares in the first quarter.
• Range Resources stock is currently rated as a "Hold" by most analysts, with a consensus target price of $42.75 per share after several recent price adjustments.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, yielding annualized returns of 1.1% for investors.

Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 18,354 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock, valued at approximately $733,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new position in Range Resources in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 48.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 971 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Range Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Range Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 20.6% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,078 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. 98.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Range Resources in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Range Resources from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Roth Capital lowered Range Resources from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, August 18th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Range Resources from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Range Resources from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Range Resources currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.75.

Range Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RRC traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $35.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,566,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,635,638. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.55. Range Resources Corporation has a 52 week low of $28.91 and a 52 week high of $43.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.98.

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

Range Resources Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Range Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.09%.

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.