Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo lowered Devon Energy’s price target from $65 to $64 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 35.9% upside from the stock’s $47.10 opening price.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable overall: Devon has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $59.72, supported by two Strong Buy, 23 Buy, and five Hold ratings.
• Devon reported strong quarterly results, posting $1.57 in earnings per share versus the $1.40 consensus estimate and $7.42 billion in revenue, up 73.1% year over year.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $65.00 to $64.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the energy company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective points to a potential upside of 35.88% from the stock's current price.

DVN has been the subject of several other reports. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Devon Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $61.00 price target for the company. Evercore upgraded shares of Devon Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wolfe Research set a $67.00 price objective on Devon Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Devon Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.72.

Devon Energy Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:DVN opened at $47.10 on Monday. Devon Energy has a 1 year low of $31.47 and a 1 year high of $52.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock's 50-day moving average is $46.77 and its 200 day moving average is $46.29. The company has a market cap of $51.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.37.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The energy company reported $1.57 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 73.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Devon Energy will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Devon Energy

In other Devon Energy news, CEO Clay M. Gaspar acquired 3,913 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $51.08 per share, for a total transaction of $199,876.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 619,152 shares in the company, valued at $31,626,284.16. This trade represents a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Ferrall Lowe III sold 6,756 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total transaction of $344,218.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 72,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,705,084. This represents a 8.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 4.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Devon Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Premier Financial Group purchased a new position in Devon Energy during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Devon Energy in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 56.6% in the second quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 678 shares of the energy company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Devon Energy during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in shares of Devon Energy during the second quarter valued at $29,000. 69.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Devon Energy Company Profile

Devon Energy Corporation is an independent energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company also gathers, processes and transports hydrocarbons through related midstream infrastructure and markets its production to customers in the United States.

Devon's operations are concentrated in U.S. onshore basins, including the Delaware Basin in the Permian Basin, the Eagle Ford, the Anadarko Basin, the Williston Basin and the Powder River Basin.

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