Range Resources Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:RRC)

Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 3,293 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 74% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,896 call options.

Range Resources Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of RRC opened at $40.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.31. 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, equities research analysts forecast that Range Resources 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Range Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm raised Range Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Roth Capital raised Range Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Range Resources from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Range Resources in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Range Resources from $32.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Range Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Range Resources

In other Range Resources news, SVP Erin W. Mcdowell sold 9,568 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.62, for a total transaction of $388,652.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $560,556. This represents a 40.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James M. Funk sold 13,582 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.03, for a total value of $475,777.46. Following the sale, the director now owns 54,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,905,421.82. This trade represents a 19.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,880 shares of company stock worth $2,815,807. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RRC. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Range Resources by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,057,280 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $181,961,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104,304 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Range Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,684,000. Amundi raised its position in Range Resources by 233.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,180,913 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $44,308,000 after purchasing an additional 826,530 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its position in Range Resources by 2,522.3% in the first quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 823,650 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $32,888,000 after purchasing an additional 792,240 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Range Resources by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,330,676 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $263,768,000 after purchasing an additional 624,955 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.