Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) Coverage Initiated at Morgan Stanley

Equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $18.00 price target on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential downside of 8.26% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Comstock Resources from $12.50 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Comstock Resources from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Comstock Resources from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Comstock Resources in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank lowered shares of Comstock Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $9.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Comstock Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.40.

Comstock Resources Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CRK opened at $19.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of -108.99 and a beta of 0.51. Comstock Resources has a 1 year low of $7.07 and a 1 year high of $20.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $15.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.38.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $304.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.75 million. Comstock Resources had a negative return on equity of 3.88% and a negative net margin of 4.93%. Comstock Resources’s quarterly revenue was down 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.04 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Comstock Resources will post -0.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Comstock Resources

In other Comstock Resources news, Director Elizabeth B. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.62, for a total transaction of $156,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 143,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,245,859.22. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 38,000 shares of company stock valued at $634,660 in the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comstock Resources

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Comstock Resources by 37.2% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 35,106 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 9,520 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Comstock Resources by 6.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,630 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comstock Resources during the second quarter worth approximately $105,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Comstock Resources by 164.9% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 211,626 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,197,000 after purchasing an additional 131,733 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Comstock Resources by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,270,435 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $23,567,000 after buying an additional 362,043 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.13% of the company’s stock.

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.