Westpac Banking Corp Trims Holdings in Devon Energy Corporation $DVN

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its holdings in Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) by 74.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,485 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 21,330 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Devon Energy were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DVN. Accredited Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 61.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 808 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in Devon Energy by 702.0% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 802 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Devon Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Devon Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Devon Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DVN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $46.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on Devon Energy from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Devon Energy from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.89.

Devon Energy Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE DVN opened at $45.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $28.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Devon Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $31.32 and a 12-month high of $52.71. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.73 and a 200 day moving average of $42.74.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.34 billion. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 15.22% and a net margin of 13.71%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Devon Energy Corporation will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from Devon Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.65%.

Insider Activity

In other Devon Energy news, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of Devon Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Adam M. Vela sold 24,342 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.21, for a total transaction of $1,149,185.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 130,540 shares in the company, valued at $6,162,793.40. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 4.58% of the company’s stock.

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.