Phocas Financial Corp. Invests $1.12 Million in Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK)

Key Points

• Phocas Financial Corp. made a new investment of approximately $1.12 million in Comstock Resources, acquiring 54,827 shares of the company.
• Recent analyst ratings show mixed sentiments, with Mizuho and Citigroup both issuing neutral ratings while others, including Bank of America, have a buy rating and price target upgrades.
• Comstock Resources reported a 90.5% increase in revenue year-over-year, with quarterly earnings of $0.13 EPS surpassing expectations, compared to a loss of ($0.20) EPS during the same period last year.

Phocas Financial Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 54,827 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,115,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CRK. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Comstock Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $355,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Comstock Resources by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 296,621 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $5,404,000 after buying an additional 64,594 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Comstock Resources by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,222,982 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $168,043,000 after buying an additional 126,380 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Comstock Resources by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 182,995 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $3,334,000 after acquiring an additional 12,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 40,983 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $747,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. 36.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comstock Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRK traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $15.95. 1,122,458 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,439,602. Comstock Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $9.09 and a one year high of $31.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business's fifty day moving average is $23.64 and its 200-day moving average is $21.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -66.44 and a beta of 0.28.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $470.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $431.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.20) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 90.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Comstock Resources, Inc. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on CRK shares. Bank of America increased their price target on Comstock Resources from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Comstock Resources to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Comstock Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Comstock Resources from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $10.00 target price on shares of Comstock Resources and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comstock Resources has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.18.

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.