Voya Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK)

Voya Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,881 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,063 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Comstock Resources were worth $508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Comstock Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Comstock Resources by 9.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 170,338 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,896,000 after buying an additional 13,998 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised 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 during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Comstock Resources by 804.6% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,958 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 2,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Comstock Resources by 225.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 2,326 shares during the last quarter. 36.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on CRK shares. StockNews.com upgraded Comstock Resources to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Comstock Resources from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Comstock Resources from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley restated a “cautious” rating and set a $22.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Comstock Resources in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Comstock Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.23.

Comstock Resources Stock Performance

Comstock Resources stock opened at $23.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.46. Comstock Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $7.74 and a one year high of $23.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of -30.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.14.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.02. Comstock Resources had a negative net margin of 18.32% and a negative return on equity of 3.10%. The business had revenue of $512.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $408.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 52.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Comstock Resources, Inc. will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.