Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $19.54, but opened at $18.56. Comstock Resources shares last traded at $18.92, with a volume of 513,786 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on CRK. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Comstock Resources in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of Comstock Resources from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Comstock Resources to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Comstock Resources from $12.50 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Comstock Resources from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.40.

Comstock Resources Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.48.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $366.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $370.62 million. Comstock Resources had a negative net margin of 18.32% and a negative return on equity of 3.10%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Comstock Resources, Inc. will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Comstock Resources by 79.2% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 689,780 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,677,000 after buying an additional 304,780 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Comstock Resources by 256.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 155,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,731,000 after acquiring an additional 111,934 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Comstock Resources by 9.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 170,338 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,896,000 after purchasing an additional 13,998 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Comstock Resources by 4.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,413,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $15,736,000 after purchasing an additional 57,376 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Comstock Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $419,000. 36.13% of the stock is 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.