First Trust Advisors LP Grows Stock Holdings in Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK – Get Rating) by 45.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,255,545 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 391,796 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.54% of Comstock Resources worth $17,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Comstock Resources by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,783,037 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $169,148,000 after buying an additional 2,608,309 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Comstock Resources by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,728,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $113,908,000 after buying an additional 849,275 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Comstock Resources by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,076,353 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $92,347,000 after buying an additional 786,726 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Comstock Resources by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,796,717 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $100,217,000 after buying an additional 182,342 shares during the period. Finally, Third Point LLC purchased a new stake in Comstock Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,870,000. 35.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comstock Resources

In related news, VP Brian Christopher Claunch purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.08 per share, for a total transaction of $50,400.00. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 36,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,581.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Comstock Resources news, VP Brian Christopher Claunch acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $10.08 per share, for a total transaction of $50,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 36,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $370,581.12. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Roland O. Burns acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.00 per share, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 950,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,504,300. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRK has been the subject of several research reports. Roth Capital reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Comstock Resources in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th. Credit Suisse Group upped their price target on shares of Comstock Resources from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Comstock Resources from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th. TheStreet cut shares of Comstock Resources from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Comstock Resources from $15.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.50.

Comstock Resources Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE CRK opened at $10.46 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $10.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.91. Comstock Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.20 and a 52 week high of $22.11.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. Comstock Resources had a net margin of 39.08% and a return on equity of 52.26%. The business had revenue of $489.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. Comstock Resources’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Comstock Resources, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comstock Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.78%. Comstock Resources’s payout ratio is 10.00%.

Comstock Resources Company Profile

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Comstock Resources, Inc engages in the acquisition, development, and exploration of oil and natural gas. The firm operations concentrated in the Haynesville shale, a premier natural gas basin located in East Texas. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Frisco, TX.