Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Comstock Resources (NYSE: CRK) from a "hold" to a "sell", and MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Reduce" with an average price target of $20.88.
• Shares opened at $16.95 and trade below the 50- and 200-day moving averages, even after Comstock posted an EPS beat ($0.16 vs. $0.11) and revenue up 115.5%; insiders (VP Patrick McGough) sold ~48,915 shares while institutions such as Goldman Sachs increased their stakes.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group set a $17.00 target price on shares of Comstock Resources in a report on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America cut shares of Comstock Resources from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $27.00 to $24.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $19.00 target price on shares of Comstock Resources in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Comstock Resources in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Comstock Resources in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $20.88.

Comstock Resources Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Comstock Resources stock opened at $16.95 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.22. Comstock Resources has a 12-month low of $14.65 and a 12-month high of $31.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.39.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. Comstock Resources had a net margin of 17.80% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The business had revenue of $787.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $504.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.16 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 115.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Comstock Resources will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Patrick Mcgough sold 48,915 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total transaction of $1,036,998.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 187,516 shares in the company, valued at $3,975,339.20. This represents a 20.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Comstock Resources

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRK. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Comstock Resources during the 1st quarter worth $627,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Comstock Resources by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 55,236 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,697 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Comstock Resources by 67.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,086,868 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $22,107,000 after purchasing an additional 437,476 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Comstock Resources by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 65,289 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 13,485 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in Comstock Resources during the 2nd quarter worth $93,000. 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.

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