Jefferies Financial Group Increases Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Price Target to $34.00

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC - Free Report) had its price objective raised by Jefferies Financial Group from $32.00 to $34.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the oil and gas exploration company's stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on RRC. Mizuho reissued a buy rating and set a $41.00 price objective (up from $39.00) on shares of Range Resources in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Range Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Benchmark reissued a hold rating on shares of Range Resources in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Range Resources from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Range Resources from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Range Resources presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $36.62.

Range Resources Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:RRC traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $34.99. 1,622,358 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,573,725. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.44. Range Resources has a fifty-two week low of $23.92 and a fifty-two week high of $38.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a PE ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 1.85.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.21. Range Resources had a net margin of 17.00% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The firm had revenue of $718.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $680.72 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. Range Resources's revenue for the quarter was down 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Range Resources will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Range Resources's payout ratio is currently 16.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Range Resources news, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 15,978 shares of Range Resources stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $603,169.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,370 shares in the company, valued at $844,467.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Range Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wright Investors Service Inc. purchased a new stake in Range Resources during the first quarter worth approximately $217,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Range Resources in the first quarter valued at $345,000. Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Range Resources by 88.1% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 16,568 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 7,762 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Range Resources by 29.4% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 96,383 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $3,318,000 after purchasing an additional 21,876 shares during the period. Finally, SpiderRock Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Range Resources in the first quarter valued at $321,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.93% of the company's stock.

About Range Resources

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.