Sciencast Management LP Sells 7,500 Shares of Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN)

Sciencast Management LP reduced its position in Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) by 21.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,993 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 7,500 shares during the quarter. Sciencast Management LP’s holdings in Devon Energy were worth $1,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,044,859 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $453,871,000 after purchasing an additional 736,449 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Devon Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,539,335 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $386,832,000 after buying an additional 68,339 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Devon Energy by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,077,042 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $320,609,000 after buying an additional 1,488,374 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Devon Energy by 1,279.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,145,605 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $278,396,000 after buying an additional 5,700,167 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Devon Energy by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 4,529,487 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $227,290,000 after buying an additional 156,230 shares during the period. 69.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DVN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Devon Energy in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Devon Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays started coverage on shares of Devon Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Devon Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Devon Energy news, EVP Tana K. Cashion sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.04, for a total transaction of $1,020,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,317,449.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Devon Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DVN traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,952,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,281,376. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.38 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 2.07. Devon Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $40.47 and a twelve month high of $55.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.78 and a 200 day moving average of $47.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.06. Devon Energy had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 29.02%. The firm had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Devon Energy Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.79%.

About Devon Energy

Devon Energy Corporation, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. It operates in Delaware, Eagle Ford, Anadarko, Williston, and Powder River Basins. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.