Hodges Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Comstock Resources, Inc. $CRK

Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 150,100 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,479,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 5.1% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,948,702 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $38,643,000 after buying an additional 94,856 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 50.5% in the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,231,916 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $24,429,000 after buying an additional 413,611 shares during the last quarter. Aventail Capital Group LP lifted its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 149.9% in the third quarter. Aventail Capital Group LP now owns 1,143,721 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $22,680,000 after buying an additional 686,002 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 67.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,086,868 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $22,107,000 after buying an additional 437,476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc lifted its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 1,752.8% in the third quarter. Man Group plc now owns 600,205 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $11,902,000 after buying an additional 567,810 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.13% of the company’s stock.

Comstock Resources Trading Up 5.4%

Comstock Resources stock opened at $13.36 on Thursday. Comstock Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $12.44 and a 52 week high of $31.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a PE ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.13. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.90.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.08). Comstock Resources had a net margin of 27.18% and a return on equity of 5.54%. The firm had revenue of $587.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $554.02 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Comstock Resources, Inc. will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down from $17.00) on shares of Comstock Resources in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Comstock Resources in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Comstock Resources from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Comstock Resources from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Comstock Resources from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Comstock Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $18.89.

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.