Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 42,633 Shares of Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in shares of Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 788,222 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 42,633 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.33% of Range Resources worth $23,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Range Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Range Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 267.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 57.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,339 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Range Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.93% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Range Resources news, VP Ashley Kavanaugh sold 15,978 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total value of $603,169.50. Following the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RRC. StockNews.com upgraded Range Resources to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Raymond James lowered their target price on Range Resources from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on Range Resources from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Range Resources from $23.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded Range Resources from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $40.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.75.

Range Resources Stock Performance

NYSE RRC traded down $1.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $35.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,298,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,586,256. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.42. Range Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $23.92 and a 52 week high of $38.25. The stock has a market cap of $8.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23 and a beta of 1.83.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $680.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. Range Resources's revenue was down 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Range Resources Co. 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 issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Range Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.24%.

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.