Short Interest in Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) Declines By 5.0%

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 24,200,000 shares, a drop of 5.0% from the December 15th total of 25,480,000 shares. Currently, 31.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 11.3 days.

Comstock Resources Stock Performance

Shares of CRK opened at $21.36 on Tuesday. Comstock Resources has a one year low of $7.07 and a one year high of $21.75. The company has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of -118.68 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $16.77 and a 200-day moving average of $12.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.01). Comstock Resources had a negative net margin of 4.93% and a negative return on equity of 3.88%. The firm had revenue of $304.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.75 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Comstock Resources will post -0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Comstock Resources in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Comstock Resources from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Comstock Resources from $12.50 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Comstock Resources from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank lowered 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Elizabeth B. Davis sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.17, for a total value of $145,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 99,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,810,313.44. This represents a 7.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 38,000 shares of company stock worth $634,660 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Comstock Resources

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in 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 valued at $7,677,000 after purchasing an additional 304,780 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 256.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 57,376 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Comstock Resources during the third quarter worth $419,000. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Comstock Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,544,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.13% of the company’s stock.

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.