Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

DVN has been the topic of several other research reports. Mizuho upped their price target on Devon Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Devon Energy from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Devon Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Devon Energy from $46.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Argus upped their price target on Devon Energy from $41.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.85.

Devon Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DVN opened at $44.14 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Devon Energy has a 1-year low of $30.24 and a 1-year high of $52.71. The company has a market cap of $27.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 0.43.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last issued 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). Devon Energy had a return on equity of 15.22% and a net margin of 13.71%.The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. Devon Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Devon Energy will post 4.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Devon Energy

In related news, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 428,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,991,570.32. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Adam M. Vela sold 24,342 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 130,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,162,793.40. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Devon Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DVN. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Devon Energy by 2,108.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,386,921 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $233,953,000 after purchasing an additional 6,097,658 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Devon Energy by 42,376.5% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,609,228 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $132,206,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600,731 shares during the period. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC lifted its position in Devon Energy by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC now owns 8,850,790 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $324,204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,195,862 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Devon Energy by 78.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,360,499 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $202,327,000 after acquiring an additional 2,802,137 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Devon Energy by 92.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,180,682 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $260,692,000 after acquiring an additional 2,485,603 shares during the period. 69.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.