What Wall Street is saying about Rice Energy Inc. (NYSE:RICE)

Rice Energy Inc. (NYSE:RICE) stock is presently standing at about $20.46 and lots of equity research firms seem to have a target price set on the stock. The median one-year price target of 25 analysts covering the company is $30.00, which suggests the stock could still rise over 32 percent. The highest analyst price target is $41.00, which implies a rally of -0 percent. And a quick view of analyst notes show that 13 are rating the stock a buy while 9 rate RICE a strong buy. There are 5 equity research firms advocating a Hold and 0 consider it Sell.

Seaport Global Securities analysts provided their view on Rice Energy Inc. (NYSE:RICE) recently. The rating firm issued a Buy rating to this company in a research note released on Feb 06, 2017. SunTrust analysts disclosed their opinion on Rice Energy Inc. (NYSE:RICE) recently. The rating firm gave a Hold rating to this stock in a research note published on Jan 30, 2017. According to a research note disclosed on Jan 24, 2017, analysts at Williams Capital Group have upped their rating on these shares from Hold to Buy.

Rice Energy Inc. (NYSE:RICE) Transactions Roundup

Several insiders were part of recent insider activity for the stock. Its See Remarks Rogers James Wilmot sold 114,523 company shares for 2920340, in a transaction on 2016-11-29. Following the transaction, the See Remarks is left with a stake of 60,802 shares, currently valued at $1244009. Meanwhile, Director, 10% Owner NGP Rice Holdings LLC sold 9,858,891 shares worth $153798700, through a transaction dated 2016-04-15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider is left with a stake of 4,478,834 shares, amounting $91636943.64. RICE 10% Owner Rice Energy Irrevocable Trust also sold 5,000,000 shares, at a stock price of $7.75. This transaction occurred on 2015-12-21 totals $38750000. After this transaction, the insider’s stake stands at 29,800,000 shares, with a market value of $609708000.

Executives hold 1.89 percent of the stock. Mr. Daniel J. Rice, IV is one of the biggest insider owners in Rice Energy Inc. (NYSE:RICE), according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings. The insider owns 2,556,844 shares which have current market value of around $52313028.24.Mr. Daniel J. Rice, III is another major inside shareholder in the company. The insider owns 211,216 shares as of 0.1%, currently worth $4321479.36. Mr. Derek A. Rice is ranked as third insider holder of the stock. This insider holds 211,216 shares with a market value around $4321479.36 as of recent close.

Rice Energy Inc. (NYSE:RICE) Earnings Outlook

In Rice Energy Inc. (NYSE:RICE)’s latest quarter, EPS moved to $0.37 from $0.00 in preceding quarter and revenues reached at $284.05M compared to $198.92M. Analysts had expected Rice Energy Inc. (NYSE:RICE) to post net income of about $0.03 per share on $267.16M in revenue. Looking ahead, analysts on average predict that earnings for the current quarter would come in in the range of $-0.02 to $0.42. That is compared with the $0.02 in EPS it reported during the same period a year ago.