Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) Stock Price Up 8.5% – Still a Buy?

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK)’s share price shot up 8.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $24.65 and last traded at $24.1670. 941,384 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 2,365,980 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Comstock Resources in a report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America cut shares of Comstock Resources from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 target price on shares of Comstock Resources and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $18.00 price target (up from $16.00) on shares of Comstock Resources in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Comstock Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $20.33.

Comstock Resources Stock Down 0.9%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $23.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $7.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.98 and a beta of 0.39.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.05. Comstock Resources had a net margin of 3.14% and a return on equity of 6.71%. The business had revenue of $449.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.17) earnings per share. Comstock Resources’s revenue was up 47.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Comstock Resources, Inc. will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comstock Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Comstock Resources by 3.7% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 13,931 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC now owns 27,653 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,303 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Comstock Resources by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,435 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 48,276 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $957,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the period. 36.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.