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

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-three have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.56.

A number of research firms have weighed in on DVN. Argus upped their target price on Devon Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on Devon Energy from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Evercore upgraded Devon Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. 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 report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th.

Devon Energy Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:DVN opened at $44.89 on Friday. Devon Energy has a one year low of $31.47 and a one year high of $52.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $27.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.29.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.34 billion. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 15.22% and a net margin of 13.71%.Devon Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Devon Energy will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Devon Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.65%.

Insider Activity at Devon Energy

In other Devon Energy news, SVP Andrea Alexander sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 138,529 shares in the company, valued at $6,474,845.46. This trade represents a 11.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of the firm’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. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 112,371 shares of company stock valued at $5,258,059 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Devon Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 56.6% during the second quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 678 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Devon Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of Devon Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Devon Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 69.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Devon Energy

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.