Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) Short Interest Down 9.0% in January

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 21,410,000 shares, a drop of 9.0% from the January 15th total of 23,520,000 shares. Currently, 27.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.4 days.

Insider Transactions at Comstock Resources

In related news, Director Elizabeth B. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.33, for a total value of $163,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 123,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,021,343.73. This represents a 7.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,000 shares of company stock valued at $634,660. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRK. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Comstock Resources by 79.2% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 689,780 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,677,000 after purchasing an additional 304,780 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Comstock Resources by 256.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 155,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,731,000 after buying an additional 111,934 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 9.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Comstock Resources by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,413,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $15,736,000 after acquiring an additional 57,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comstock Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $419,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.13% of the company’s stock.

Comstock Resources Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE:CRK opened at $18.96 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.12. The company has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -105.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.48. Comstock Resources has a 52-week low of $7.46 and a 52-week high of $22.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.14. Comstock Resources had a negative return on equity of 3.88% and a negative net margin of 4.93%. On average, analysts anticipate that Comstock Resources will post -0.41 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America started coverage on Comstock Resources in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Comstock Resources from $12.50 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho raised shares of Comstock Resources from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Comstock Resources in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.40.

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.