Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $21.08, but opened at $20.40. Comstock Resources shares last traded at $19.8390, with a volume of 270,624 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on CRK shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Comstock Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Comstock Resources from $21.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Comstock Resources in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Comstock Resources in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Comstock Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $20.88.

Comstock Resources Trading Down 6.7%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $21.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 0.40.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $787.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $504.66 million. Comstock Resources had a net margin of 17.80% and a return on equity of 6.30%. Comstock Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 115.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Comstock Resources, Inc. will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Comstock Resources

In other news, VP Patrick Mcgough sold 48,915 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total transaction of $1,036,998.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 187,516 shares in the company, valued at $3,975,339.20. This represents a 20.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Comstock Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Redwood Family Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Comstock Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $232,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Comstock Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Comstock Resources by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 969,961 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $22,484,000 after acquiring an additional 39,409 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Comstock Resources by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 108,103 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,506,000 after acquiring an additional 15,852 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Comstock Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $870,000. Institutional investors own 36.13% of the company’s stock.

Comstock Resources Company Profile

Comstock Resources, Inc is an independent energy company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company focuses on generating long-term value through the efficient development of unconventional resource plays and conventional prospects. Its activities encompass drilling, completion and production operations, as well as the marketing of natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil.

Comstock holds a core position in the Haynesville Shale of Northwest Louisiana, one of the most active natural gas plays in North America, and has built a complementary portfolio in the Delaware Basin of West Texas.