Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK)

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 13,932 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 304% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,446 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CRK. Bank of America cut shares of Comstock Resources from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Comstock Resources in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Comstock Resources in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Comstock Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Comstock Resources from $21.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Comstock Resources has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $20.88.

Comstock Resources Trading Down 8.5%

Shares of CRK stock opened at $19.28 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.40. Comstock Resources has a twelve month low of $14.65 and a twelve month high of $31.17.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $787.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $504.66 million. Comstock Resources had a net margin of 17.80% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 115.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Comstock Resources will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Comstock Resources

In related news, VP Patrick Mcgough sold 48,915 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total value of $1,036,998.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 187,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,975,339.20. This represents a 20.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Comstock Resources

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Great Hill Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comstock Resources in the third quarter valued at $4,075,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Comstock Resources by 10,032.7% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 359,307 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,125,000 after buying an additional 355,761 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Comstock Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,395,000. LSP Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Comstock Resources by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. LSP Investment Advisors LLC now owns 378,900 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,514,000 after buying an additional 95,900 shares during the period. Finally, Aventail Capital Group LP grew its holdings in Comstock Resources by 149.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aventail Capital Group LP now owns 1,143,721 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $22,680,000 after buying an additional 686,002 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.13% of the company’s stock.

Comstock Resources Company Profile

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.