Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) Shares Up 6% – Time to Buy?

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK)’s share price shot up 6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $15.08 and last traded at $15.0260. Approximately 397,371 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 2,470,679 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Comstock Resources from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Comstock Resources from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Williams Trading set a $16.00 price target on shares of Comstock Resources in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Comstock Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Comstock Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $14.89.

Comstock Resources Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.20. The firm has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 8.24 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.48.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $353.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $419.22 million. Comstock Resources had a return on equity of 4.12% and a net margin of 23.31%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Comstock Resources, Inc. will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comstock Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRK. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Comstock Resources during the second quarter worth $176,583,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Comstock Resources by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,483,203 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $103,921,000 after buying an additional 161,093 shares during the period. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Comstock Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $99,632,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Comstock Resources by 5.1% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,948,702 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $38,643,000 after buying an additional 94,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 1,095.9% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,251,609 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $18,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146,954 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.