Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 48,040 Shares of Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK - Free Report) by 10.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 427,213 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 48,040 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.15% of Comstock Resources worth $4,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,696,540 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $121,414,000 after acquiring an additional 2,438,252 shares during the period. KGH Ltd raised its stake in shares of Comstock Resources by 8.7% in the second quarter. KGH Ltd now owns 12,125,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $125,858,000 after purchasing an additional 975,000 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Comstock Resources by 775.4% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 875,371 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $9,086,000 after purchasing an additional 775,371 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Comstock Resources during the second quarter worth $6,544,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Comstock Resources by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,270,435 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $23,567,000 after buying an additional 362,043 shares during the period. 36.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comstock Resources

In other news, Director Elizabeth B. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.33, for a total transaction of $163,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 123,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,021,343.73. This trade represents a 7.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 38,000 shares of company stock valued at $634,660 in the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CRK. Siebert Williams Shank downgraded shares of Comstock Resources from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $9.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Comstock Resources from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America began coverage on Comstock Resources in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho raised Comstock Resources from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $10.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Comstock Resources from $12.50 to $15.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.78.

Comstock Resources Stock Down 5.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CRK traded down $1.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.68. 2,694,042 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,395,421. Comstock Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.07 and a fifty-two week high of $19.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $15.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.15. The stock has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -98.22 and a beta of 0.51.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.01). Comstock Resources had a negative net margin of 4.93% and a negative return on equity of 3.88%. The firm had revenue of $304.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.04 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Comstock Resources, Inc. will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comstock Resources 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.