Devon Energy Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:DVN)

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 79,300 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 112% compared to the average daily volume of 37,332 call options.

Devon Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DVN traded down $0.04 on Tuesday, reaching $46.24. The stock had a trading volume of 18,751,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,327,251. The company has a market capitalization of $28.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 0.38. Devon Energy has a 1-year low of $30.75 and a 1-year high of $52.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.51.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.34 billion. Devon Energy had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 15.22%. Devon Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Devon Energy will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Devon Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two research 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 MarketBeat.com, Devon Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Adam M. Vela sold 24,342 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 130,540 shares in the company, valued at $6,162,793.40. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 428,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,991,570.32. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in shares of Devon Energy during the fourth quarter worth $9,931,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Devon Energy by 4.3% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 833,155 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $29,210,000 after acquiring an additional 33,974 shares in the last quarter. Investors Research Corp increased its position in shares of Devon Energy by 13,787.5% during the fourth quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 27,775 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 27,575 shares in the last quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC increased its position in shares of Devon Energy by 43.8% during the fourth quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC now owns 161,368 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,911,000 after acquiring an additional 49,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its position in shares of Devon Energy by 298.1% during the third quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 42,351 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 31,713 shares in the last quarter. 69.72% of the stock is currently owned by 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.