StockNews.com Upgrades Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) to Sell

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Monday.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on CRK. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Comstock Resources from $14.00 to $13.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Comstock Resources from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Comstock Resources from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Comstock Resources from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Comstock Resources from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.75.

Comstock Resources Stock Performance

CRK traded up $0.07 on Monday, hitting $10.40. 2,217,113 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,537,120. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.40. Comstock Resources has a twelve month low of $7.07 and a twelve month high of $13.39. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68 and a beta of 0.70.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.06). Comstock Resources had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 5.65%. The company had revenue of $410.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $401.97 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Comstock Resources will post -0.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Star Exploration Corp Blue acquired 12,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.04 per share, for a total transaction of $100,500,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 194,821,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,566,364,289.16. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comstock Resources

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comstock Resources in the third quarter worth about $569,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Comstock Resources by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,295,391 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,348,000 after purchasing an additional 41,260 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Comstock Resources by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 56,703 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 11,400 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Comstock Resources by 193.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 61,123 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 40,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Comstock Resources by 693.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,730 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares during the period. 36.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comstock Resources Company Profile

Comstock Resources, Inc, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of natural gas and oil properties in the United States. Its assets are located in the Haynesville and Bossier shales located in North Louisiana and East Texas. The company was incorporated in 1919 and is headquartered in Frisco, Texas.