Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $38.38 Million Stock Position in Devon Energy Corporation $DVN

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 762,803 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 50,457 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Devon Energy worth $38,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 98.8% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 115,780 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,330,000 after purchasing an additional 57,555 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Devon Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $403,000. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in Devon Energy by 58.8% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 28,251 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 10,464 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Devon Energy by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 148,882 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,736,000 after purchasing an additional 22,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Devon Energy by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 144,174 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,586,000 after purchasing an additional 8,127 shares during the last quarter. 69.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Andrea Alexander sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.74, for a total value of $841,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 138,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,474,845.46. This represents a 11.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.66, for a total value of $3,267,553.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 428,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,991,570.32. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 112,371 shares of company stock valued at $5,258,059. 4.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on DVN shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Devon Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. Mizuho increased their price target on Devon Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Devon Energy from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.32.

Devon Energy Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE DVN opened at $43.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01. Devon Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.47 and a 52-week high of $52.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $44.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.07. The stock has a market cap of $27.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.38.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last issued 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). Devon Energy had a return on equity of 15.22% and a net margin of 13.71%.The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. Devon Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Devon Energy Corporation will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Devon Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 35.65%.

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.