Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) Shares Down 4.1% Following Insider Selling

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) shares traded down 4.1% during trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $17.77 and last traded at $17.93. 885,487 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 1,383,275 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.70.

Specifically, Director Elizabeth B. Davis sold 8,000 shares of Comstock Resources stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.17, for a total transaction of $145,360.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 99,632 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,313.44. The trade was a 7.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRK has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Comstock Resources from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho upgraded Comstock Resources from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $10.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Comstock Resources in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on Comstock Resources from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank cut Comstock Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $9.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four investment 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, Comstock Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.78.

Comstock Resources Price Performance

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 has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of -98.22 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50 day moving average is $15.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.15.

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

Institutional Trading of Comstock Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRK. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Comstock Resources by 37.2% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 35,106 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 9,520 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Comstock Resources in the second quarter worth about $116,000. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake 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 valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comstock Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $105,000. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in Comstock Resources by 164.9% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 211,626 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after acquiring an additional 131,733 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.