Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) Price Target Raised to $15.00

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) had its price objective boosted by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $9.00 to $15.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sell” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 2.88% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on CRK. Mizuho upped their target price on Comstock Resources from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Comstock Resources in a report on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Comstock Resources from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research cut Comstock Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Comstock Resources in a research note on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $15.80.

Comstock Resources Price Performance

NYSE CRK traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $15.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,042,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,519,821. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.48. The company’s 50-day moving average is $13.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.98. Comstock Resources has a fifty-two week low of $12.12 and a fifty-two week high of $28.10. The stock has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66 and a beta of 0.14.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $353.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $419.22 million. Comstock Resources had a net margin of 23.31% and a return on equity of 4.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Comstock Resources will post 0.4 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Comstock Resources during the second quarter worth $176,583,000. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Comstock Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $99,632,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Comstock Resources by 344.5% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,853,846 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436,746 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Comstock Resources by 1,095.9% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,251,609 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $18,674,000 after buying an additional 1,146,954 shares during the period. Finally, Gemsstock Ltd. acquired a new stake in Comstock Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $19,186,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.13% of the company’s stock.

More Comstock Resources News

Here are the key news stories impacting Comstock Resources this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Comstock signed a letter of intent for Azerbaijan’s SOCAR to acquire interests in its Legacy and Western Haynesville assets and a stake in Pinnacle Gas Services for $1.65 billion in cash. Comstock expects to use the proceeds to reduce pro forma net debt from approximately $3.1 billion to $1.5 billion, strengthening liquidity and lowering financial risk. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: The SOCAR partnership gives Comstock an international strategic partner with potential access to global LNG customers, while Comstock retains operatorship of the upstream assets and control of Pinnacle. The deal also provides validation for the value of Comstock’s Haynesville resource base. Comstock press release
• Positive Sentiment: A separate drilling venture with a partnership owned by majority stockholder Jerry Jones is expected to fund about $450 million of drilling and completion costs for 27 Haynesville wells over the next year. This could accelerate production growth while reducing Comstock’s near-term capital requirements. Inside Monkey article
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target for CRK to $20 from $19 but maintained a Neutral rating, suggesting analysts see upside potential but remain cautious about the company’s outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: The SOCAR transaction is only a letter of intent and still requires definitive agreements, regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Comstock is targeting completion by year-end, so delays or failure to complete the sale could reverse some of the balance-sheet benefit. Analyst consensus article
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have assigned CRK a consensus recommendation of “Reduce,” indicating that despite the strategic transactions, valuation, commodity-price exposure or operating risks may limit further gains.

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.