Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) Cut to Strong Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on CRK. Zacks Research cut shares of Comstock Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Williams Trading set a $16.00 price target on Comstock Resources in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $15.00 price target on Comstock Resources and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Comstock Resources from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Comstock Resources from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. 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, Comstock Resources currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $14.89.

Comstock Resources Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of CRK stock opened at $14.45 on Friday. Comstock Resources has a 1 year low of $12.12 and a 1 year high of $28.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comstock Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Comstock Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $176,583,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Comstock Resources by 3.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Comstock Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $99,632,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Comstock Resources by 5.1% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,948,702 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $38,643,000 after buying an additional 94,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Comstock Resources by 1,095.9% during 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 buying an additional 1,146,954 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.13% of the company’s stock.

About Comstock Resources

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.