Graham Capital Management L.P. Raises Holdings in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC)

Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC - Free Report) by 1,202.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,509 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after purchasing an additional 151,874 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. owned approximately 0.07% of Range Resources worth $5,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of RRC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 87.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Range Resources by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,148 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Range Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Range Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Range Resources by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,178 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. 98.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James M. Funk sold 13,582 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.03, for a total transaction of $475,777.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,905,421.82. The trade was a 19.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $49.00 target price on shares of Range Resources in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Range Resources from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Roth Mkm upgraded shares of Range Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $41.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Range Resources from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Range Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $41.50.

Range Resources Trading Up 3.1%

RRC stock traded up $1.19 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $40.19. The company had a trading volume of 373,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,462,536. Range Resources Co. has a 12 month low of $27.29 and a 12 month high of $41.95. The stock has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.19.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $626.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $676.53 million. Range Resources had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 13.69%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Range Resources Co. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Range Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. This is a boost from Range Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Range Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.14%.

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.