Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Thirty brokerages collectively rate Devon Energy “Moderate Buy,” including 23 buys and two strong buys. The average 12-month price target is $59.72, above the reported share price of $45.37.
• Devon reported strong quarterly results: Earnings per share came in at $1.57 versus the $1.40 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $7.42 billion, up 73.1% year over year and above expectations.
• Institutional ownership remains high, but insiders sold shares: Institutional investors own 69.72% of the company, with BlackRock substantially increasing its stake. Two senior vice presidents recently sold shares, while Devon declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32, equivalent to a 2.8% annual yield.

Shares of Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-three have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $59.72.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DVN shares. Wolfe Research set a $67.00 target price on shares of Devon Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Thursday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Evercore raised shares of Devon Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $54.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Devon Energy

In other news, SVP Adam M. Vela sold 24,342 shares of Devon Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.21, for a total transaction of $1,149,185.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 130,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,162,793.40. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Andrea Alexander sold 18,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 138,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,474,845.46. The trade was a 11.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 4.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Devon Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 57.6% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 95,378,854 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $3,941,054,000 after purchasing an additional 34,871,366 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Devon Energy by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,542,293 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,301,914,000 after buying an additional 212,074 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Devon Energy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,177,835 shares of the energy company's stock worth $700,238,000 after acquiring an additional 186,743 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Devon Energy by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,916,979 shares of the energy company's stock worth $509,779,000 after acquiring an additional 2,071,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 137.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 9,628,124 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $397,834,000 after purchasing an additional 5,573,172 shares during the period. 69.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Devon Energy Price Performance

DVN opened at $45.37 on Wednesday. Devon Energy has a twelve month low of $31.47 and a twelve month high of $52.71. The company has a market capitalization of $28.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.04.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The energy company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.17. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 16.67%.The firm had revenue of $7.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 73.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Devon Energy will post 4.91 EPS for the current year.

Devon Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Devon Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.40%.

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.

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