Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-one research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $58.5185.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research set a $67.00 price target on shares of Devon Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st.

Insider Transactions at Devon Energy

In other news, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.66, for a total value of $3,267,553.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 428,452 shares in the company, valued at $19,991,570.32. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrea Alexander sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.74, for a total transaction of $841,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 138,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,474,845.46. This trade represents a 11.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 112,371 shares of company stock worth $5,258,059 in the last three months. Insiders own 4.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Devon Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Devon Energy by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,542,293 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,301,914,000 after purchasing an additional 212,074 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Devon Energy by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,177,835 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $700,238,000 after purchasing an additional 186,743 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Devon Energy by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,916,979 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $509,779,000 after purchasing an additional 2,071,021 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Devon Energy by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,606,131 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $483,475,000 after buying an additional 235,561 shares during the period. Finally, Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC boosted its position in Devon Energy by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC now owns 8,850,790 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $324,204,000 after buying an additional 3,195,862 shares during the period. 69.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Devon Energy Stock Up 2.2%

DVN opened at $43.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01. Devon Energy has a fifty-two week low of $31.45 and a fifty-two week high of $52.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $46.28 and its 200 day moving average is $43.39. The stock has a market cap of $26.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 0.38.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.02). Devon Energy had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 15.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Devon Energy will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Devon Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Devon Energy’s payout ratio is presently 35.65%.

Devon Energy Company 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.