Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $23.88 and last traded at $22.85, with a volume of 2549488 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CRK. Morgan Stanley reissued a “cautious” rating and set a $22.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of Comstock Resources in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Comstock Resources from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Williams Trading set a $13.00 target price on shares of Comstock Resources in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Comstock Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.23.

Comstock Resources Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.83. The company has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a PE ratio of -30.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.14.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $512.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $408.99 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.03) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 52.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Comstock Resources, Inc. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Comstock Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRK. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Comstock Resources by 27.3% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 287,298 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,844,000 after buying an additional 61,581 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comstock Resources in the 1st quarter valued at $5,127,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Comstock Resources by 79.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,155,680 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $23,507,000 after purchasing an additional 513,190 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Comstock Resources in the 1st quarter valued at $4,043,000. Finally, Phocas Financial Corp. purchased a new position in Comstock Resources during the 1st quarter worth $1,115,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.13% of the company’s stock.

About Comstock Resources

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.