Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on CRK. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Comstock Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Comstock Resources in a report on Monday, August 17th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Comstock Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Comstock Resources in a research report on Friday, September 25th. They set a “hold” rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Comstock Resources in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $15.00.

Comstock Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:CRK opened at $14.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Comstock Resources has a 12-month low of $12.12 and a 12-month high of $28.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02 and a beta of 0.52.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. Comstock Resources had a return on equity of 4.12% and a net margin of 23.31%. The company had revenue of $353.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $419.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Comstock Resources will post 0.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comstock Resources

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Comstock Resources by 3.2% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 36,792 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in Comstock Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Comstock Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Comstock Resources by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,821 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Comstock Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.13% of the company’s stock.

About Comstock Resources

Comstock Resources, Inc is an independent energy company engaged in the acquisition, development, production and exploration of oil and natural gas properties. The company’s operations are focused primarily on unconventional resources, with natural gas serving as its principal product.

Comstock’s core asset base is concentrated in the Haynesville and Bossier shale formations in East Texas and North Louisiana. These regions are among the major natural gas-producing areas in the United States, and the company uses horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to develop its properties.