Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) Now Covered by Morgan Stanley

Stock analysts at Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com 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 objective suggests a potential downside of 9.55% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on CRK. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Comstock Resources from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Comstock Resources from $12.50 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho raised Comstock Resources from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Siebert Williams Shank downgraded Comstock Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $9.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Comstock Resources in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Comstock Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.40.

Comstock Resources Stock Up 1.4 %

CRK stock opened at $19.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -110.55 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Comstock Resources has a 12 month low of $7.07 and a 12 month high of $20.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $15.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.45.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $304.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.75 million. Comstock Resources had a negative return on equity of 3.88% and a negative net margin of 4.93%. The firm’s revenue was down 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Comstock Resources will post -0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comstock Resources

In other news, Director Elizabeth B. Davis sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.17, for a total transaction of $145,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 99,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,313.44. This trade represents a 7.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,000 shares of company stock valued at $634,660. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Comstock Resources

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRK. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $364,000 after buying an additional 9,520 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Comstock Resources by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,630 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Comstock Resources in the 2nd quarter worth $105,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Comstock Resources by 164.9% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $23,567,000 after purchasing an additional 362,043 shares in 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.