Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) Stock Price Down 4.1% After Insider Selling

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) traded down 4.1% on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $17.77 and last traded at $17.93. 885,487 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 1,383,275 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.70.

Specifically, Director Elizabeth B. Davis sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.17, for a total value of $145,360.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 99,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,313.44. This trade represents a 7.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Comstock Resources from $12.50 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Comstock Resources in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Comstock Resources from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Comstock Resources from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $10.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank cut shares of Comstock Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $9.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.78.

Comstock Resources Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -98.22 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $15.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $304.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.75 million. Comstock Resources had a negative net margin of 4.93% and a negative return on equity of 3.88%. The company’s revenue was down 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Comstock Resources, Inc. will post -0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Comstock Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Comstock Resources by 79.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 689,780 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,677,000 after acquiring an additional 304,780 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Comstock Resources by 4.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,413,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $15,736,000 after purchasing an additional 57,376 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Comstock Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $419,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 256.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 155,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,731,000 after buying an additional 111,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Comstock Resources by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC now owns 683,570 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,095,000 after buying an additional 148,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.13% of the company’s stock.

About Comstock Resources

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.