Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 13,040,000 shares, a growth of 19.7% from the February 13th total of 10,890,000 shares. Approximately 5.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,690,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days.

Range Resources Trading Down 0.6 %

RRC traded down $0.26 during trading on Thursday, hitting $40.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 292,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,290,036. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.80. Range Resources has a twelve month low of $27.29 and a twelve month high of $41.95.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.68 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 17.63%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Range Resources will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Range Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This is a positive change from Range Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on RRC. Mizuho boosted their target price on Range Resources from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank cut Range Resources from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Range Resources from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Range Resources in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Range Resources from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Range Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.95.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Range Resources by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,579,579 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $48,588,000 after buying an additional 604,199 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Range Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $380,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Range Resources in the third quarter valued at about $11,508,000. Calamos Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Range Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $567,000. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC raised its position in Range Resources by 156.2% in the fourth quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 42,993 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 26,213 shares during the period. 98.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.