Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $14.08 and last traded at $14.20, with a volume of 628246 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $14.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRK has been the topic of several research reports. Williams Trading set a $16.00 price target on shares of Comstock Resources in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Comstock Resources in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $13.00 price objective (down from $17.00) on shares of Comstock Resources in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Comstock Resources in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Comstock Resources from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $19.78.

Comstock Resources Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 0.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.84.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $587.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $554.02 million. Comstock Resources had a net margin of 27.18% and a return on equity of 5.54%. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.18 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Comstock Resources, Inc. will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Comstock Resources

In other news, VP Patrick Mcgough sold 48,915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total value of $1,036,998.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 187,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,975,339.20. This represents a 20.69% 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. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comstock Resources by 740.4% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Comstock Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Comstock Resources in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Comstock Resources by 877.6% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,437 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Comstock Resources in the first quarter worth about $29,000. 36.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Comstock Resources

Comstock Resources, Inc is an independent energy company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company focuses on generating long-term value through the efficient development of unconventional resource plays and conventional prospects. Its activities encompass drilling, completion and production operations, as well as the marketing of natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil.

Comstock holds a core position in the Haynesville Shale of Northwest Louisiana, one of the most active natural gas plays in North America, and has built a complementary portfolio in the Delaware Basin of West Texas.