Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Trading Up 0.6% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) rose 0.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $53.00 to $54.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Devon Energy traded as high as $35.03 and last traded at $35.08. Approximately 1,226,406 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 9,740,031 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.88.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Devon Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Devon Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $51.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Devon Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Devon Energy from $54.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.45.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,892,970 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $619,747,000 after purchasing an additional 206,884 shares during the last quarter. EnCap Energy Capital Fund XI L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Devon Energy in the third quarter valued at $461,857,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Devon Energy by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,591,168 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $453,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677,652 shares during the last quarter. EnCap Partners GP LLC bought a new stake in Devon Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $408,653,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Devon Energy by 3.8% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,971,343 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $390,079,000 after purchasing an additional 361,968 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

Devon Energy Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $23.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 2.00.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The energy company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.01. Devon Energy had a net margin of 21.71% and a return on equity of 24.73%. The business had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Devon Energy Co. will post 4.7 EPS for the current year.

Devon Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.33%.

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.