UBS Group AG Raises Position in Range Resources Corporation $RRC

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in Range Resources by 66.3% in Q4, buying 1,430,477 shares to hold 3,588,540 shares (about 1.51% of the company) valued at $126.5 million.
• Range Resources beat estimates for the quarter with EPS of $1.52 vs. $1.25 expected and revenue of $1.07 billion (up 49.8% year-over-year), producing a 26.1% net margin and 18.6% return on equity.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.10 (annualized $0.40, 0.9% yield) and holds an analyst consensus of "Hold" with an average price target of $43.41.

UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC - Free Report) by 66.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,588,540 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,430,477 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned about 1.51% of Range Resources worth $126,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Range Resources by 116.3% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Range Resources by 49.6% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in Range Resources by 439.5% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,104 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,714 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Range Resources by 206.4% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,301 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares during the period. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp boosted its position in Range Resources by 59.5% during the fourth quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 2,680 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.93% of the company's stock.

Range Resources Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Range Resources stock opened at $42.62 on Friday. Range Resources Corporation has a 12-month low of $32.60 and a 12-month high of $48.31. The company has a market cap of $10.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company's 50-day moving average price is $42.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.70.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.27. Range Resources had a net margin of 26.09% and a return on equity of 18.64%. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $898.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 49.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Range Resources Corporation will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Range Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Range Resources's payout ratio is currently 10.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RRC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Range Resources from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Range Resources from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Range Resources from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Range Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Range Resources from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Range Resources presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $43.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Brenda A. Cline sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total value of $310,800.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 28,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,272,859.20. This represents a 19.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Range Resources 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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