Bank of Nova Scotia Takes Position in Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC)

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of Range Resources Co. (NYSE:RRC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 229,719 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,265,000. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.10% of Range Resources at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 87.1% during 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 buying an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Range Resources by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,148 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Range Resources during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Range Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Range Resources by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,544 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.93% of the company’s stock.

Range Resources Trading Up 3.3 %

RRC opened at $33.31 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $37.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.58. Range Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $27.29 and a 1-year high of $41.95. The company has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $626.42 million during 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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. Analysts predict that Range Resources Co. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Range Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. This is an increase from Range Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Range Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RRC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Range Resources from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Range Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup downgraded Range Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Range Resources from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $45.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Scotiabank cut Range Resources from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.81.

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.