Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) Short Interest Down 5.0% in December

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Siebert Williams Shank downgraded shares of Comstock Resources from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $9.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Comstock Resources from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on Comstock Resources from $12.50 to $15.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho raised Comstock Resources from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Comstock Resources in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.30.

Comstock Resources Stock Down 0.7 %

CRK traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.36. 2,213,945 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,980,321. The company has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -118.68 and a beta of 0.51. Comstock Resources has a one year low of $7.07 and a one year high of $21.75. The company's fifty day moving average price is $16.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.81. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $304.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $308.75 million. Comstock Resources had a negative net margin of 4.93% and a negative return on equity of 3.88%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.04 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Comstock Resources will post -0.43 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Comstock Resources news, Director Elizabeth B. Davis sold 10,000 shares of Comstock Resources stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.62, for a total transaction of $156,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 143,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,245,859.22. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 38,000 shares of company stock valued at $634,660 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Comstock Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRK. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Comstock Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 140.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,400 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Comstock Resources by 2,533.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,582 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 3,446 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Comstock Resources by 116.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,715 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 3,611 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in Comstock Resources during the second quarter valued at about $105,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.