Range Resources posts Q3 loss but optimistic about 2017

• Range Resources (RRC -2.6%) is lower despite posting a narrow than expected Q3 loss on better than expected revenues, as the company says it believes it has turned the corner.
• CFO Roger Manny tells analysts during today's earnings conference call that Q3 "appears to mark a financial turning point" for the company, citing rising prices for natural gas, natural gas liquids and oil, higher cash flow and margins, as well as the start of efforts to diversify its pipeline transportation to get gas to various points outside of Appalachia.
• RRC's acquisition of Memorial Resource barely closed before the end of the quarter, but RRC still saw a slight increase in its realized gas price from a year ago, of $0.17/MMcf vs. just a $0.10 bump in the average for Henry Hub; looking ahead, RRC expects its average discount to headline gas prices to narrow from ~$0.46 to $0.30-$0.35 cents in 2017.
• On cost cutting, RRC expects a 10% organic increase in production growth in 2017 while continuing to cut down on unit costs; in the Marcellus Shale, for instance, RRC says it has enjoyed a 35% decrease in costs in 2016 compared to 2013.
• RRC says it plans to drill as many as a third of its new wells on existing pads in 2017 and could make that as many as half in 2018, saving $200K-$500K per well.