Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.23.

Devon Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DVN opened at $48.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $52.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.37. Devon Energy has a fifty-two week low of $31.47 and a fifty-two week high of $52.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.91 and a 200-day moving average of $45.82.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The energy company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.17. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 16.67%.The company had revenue of $7.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 73.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Devon Energy will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Devon Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Devon Energy’s payout ratio is presently 30.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Devon Energy news, SVP Andrea Alexander sold 18,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 138,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,474,845.46. The trade was a 11.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC lifted its stake in Devon Energy by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC now owns 8,850,790 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $324,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,195,862 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 79.6% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 799,587 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $29,289,000 after buying an additional 354,500 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Devon Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $2,089,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 15.5% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 194,773 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $9,801,000 after buying an additional 26,209 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 479,681 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $24,138,000 after acquiring an additional 80,000 shares during the last quarter. 69.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.