Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Trims Stock Position in Comstock Resources, Inc. $CRK

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in Comstock Resources by 3.2%, owning 12,876,771 shares valued at $261.90 million after selling 421,092 shares in the first quarter.
• Comstock Resources has received mixed ratings from analysts: UBS lowered its price target from $18.00 to $14.00, while Citigroup raised its target from $22.00 to $27.00, reflecting varied confidence in the stock's future performance.
• The company reported a 90.5% revenue increase year-over-year, with earnings per share of $0.13 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.09.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its stake in Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK - Free Report) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,876,771 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 421,092 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 4.40% of Comstock Resources worth $261,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRK. Corigliano Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comstock Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $11,450,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 79.9% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,155,680 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $23,507,000 after acquiring an additional 513,190 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comstock Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $6,349,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Comstock Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $6,329,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comstock Resources during the 1st quarter worth about $5,127,000. 36.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comstock Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Comstock Resources stock traded down $0.3170 on Friday, hitting $15.3030. The stock had a trading volume of 2,415,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,782,084. Comstock Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.09 and a 52-week high of $31.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -63.76 and a beta of 0.28. The company's 50 day moving average price is $21.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.86.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $470.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $431.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.20) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 90.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Comstock Resources, Inc. will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Comstock Resources to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Comstock Resources from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Roth Capital cut Comstock Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Comstock Resources from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Comstock Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $18.25.

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.