Allstate Corp Buys 22,118 Shares of Devon Energy Corporation $DVN

Allstate Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) by 111.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 42,001 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,118 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Devon Energy were worth $1,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Devon Energy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 113,537 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,159,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,510 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Devon Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $276,000. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Devon Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $1,087,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Devon Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $2,089,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DVN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial raised Devon Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore began coverage on shares of Devon Energy in a research report on Friday, May 15th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Devon Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.85.

Insider Transactions at Devon Energy

In other news, SVP Adam M. Vela sold 24,342 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.21, for a total value of $1,149,185.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 130,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,162,793.40. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.66, for a total transaction of $3,267,553.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 428,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,991,570.32. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Devon Energy Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:DVN opened at $44.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $27.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Devon Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $30.24 and a fifty-two week high of $52.71.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.02). Devon Energy had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 15.22%. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Devon Energy Corporation will post 4.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This is an increase from Devon Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.74%.

Devon Energy Profile

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The company focuses on the exploration, development, production and marketing of hydrocarbons, including crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and natural gas. Devon operates as an upstream energy company that acquires, evaluates and develops onshore resource plays using a combination of drilling, completion and production optimization techniques.

Core business activities include identifying and developing energy reserves, operating well programs and managing reservoir performance to generate production and cash flow.