Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Position in Comstock Resources, Inc. $CRK

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Comstock Resources by 2.3%, now owning approximately 3.08% of the company, valued at around $183.3 million.
• Comstock Resources reported a 90.5% increase in year-over-year revenue, totaling $470.26 million for the quarter, surpassing analyst expectations.
• Analysts are divided on Comstock Resources, with two rating it as a Buy, while four assigned a Sell rating; the consensus price target is set at $18.58.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,011,851 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 211,131 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 3.08% of Comstock Resources worth $183,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 129.3% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,075 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust bought a new stake in Comstock Resources in the first quarter worth $52,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Comstock Resources by 804.6% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,958 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 2,631 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Comstock Resources in the fourth quarter worth $70,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Comstock Resources by 17.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,803 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017 shares in the last quarter. 36.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CRK. Roth Capital downgraded Comstock Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $12.00 in a report on Monday, August 18th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Comstock Resources from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $27.00 target price (up from $22.00) on shares of Comstock Resources in a report on Friday, June 13th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Comstock Resources from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Comstock Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comstock Resources presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $18.25.

Comstock Resources Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of CRK stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $15.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,399,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,831,980. Comstock Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.09 and a 52-week high of $31.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $21.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -63.79 and a beta of 0.28.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.04. Comstock Resources had a positive return on equity of 3.65% and a negative net margin of 5.05%.The firm had revenue of $470.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $431.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.20) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 90.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Comstock Resources, Inc. will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comstock Resources 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.