Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) was the target of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 29,330,000 shares, a growth of 15.7% from the March 31st total of 25,340,000 shares. Currently, 37.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,510,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Comstock Resources news, major shareholder Star Exploration Corp Blue purchased 12,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.04 per share, for a total transaction of $100,500,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 194,821,429 shares in the company, valued at $1,566,364,289.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comstock Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Outfitter Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Outfitter Financial LLC now owns 34,300 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 1,630 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 41,381 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 2,310 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 53,942 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 2,389 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 80.0% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 5,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 2,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 12,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.13% of the company’s stock.

Comstock Resources Price Performance

NYSE CRK opened at $10.07 on Wednesday. Comstock Resources has a 12 month low of $7.07 and a 12 month high of $13.39. The stock has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50 day moving average is $8.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.06). Comstock Resources had a return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 13.49%. The firm had revenue of $410.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $401.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. Comstock Resources’s revenue was down 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Comstock Resources will post -0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CRK shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Comstock Resources from $14.00 to $13.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Comstock Resources from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Comstock Resources from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Comstock Resources from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Comstock Resources to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.75.

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.