Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $59.32.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho boosted their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Devon Energy Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of DVN stock opened at $43.84 on Friday. Devon Energy has a 1-year low of $31.47 and a 1-year high of $52.71. The company has a market cap of $27.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.07.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. Devon Energy’s revenue was down 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Devon Energy will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 dividend yield of 2.9%. Devon Energy’s payout ratio is currently 35.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Devon Energy

In other news, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of Devon Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $19,991,570.32. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Andrea Alexander sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.74, for a total value of $841,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 138,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,474,845.46. This represents a 11.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 112,371 shares of company stock valued at $5,258,059 over the last quarter. 4.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Devon Energy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 80.0% in the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 115,418 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,769,000 after purchasing an additional 51,291 shares during the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Devon Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $376,000. Grace & White Inc. NY lifted its stake in Devon Energy by 120.6% during the second quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 187,113 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $7,732,000 after purchasing an additional 102,277 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Devon Energy by 34.9% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 32,397 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,339,000 after acquiring an additional 8,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Devon Energy by 114.4% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 22,638 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 12,079 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

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.