Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on DVN. Cowen cut shares of Devon Energy to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $47.00 price target on shares of Devon Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Williams Trading set a $50.00 price target on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Devon Energy from $45.00 to $35.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Devon Energy from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.87.

Devon Energy Price Performance

Devon Energy stock opened at $33.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.45, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.00. Devon Energy has a one year low of $25.89 and a one year high of $50.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $32.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.64.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.27 by ($0.06). Devon Energy had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 18.14%. The company had revenue of $4.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Devon Energy will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Devon Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DVN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 80,682,170 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $2,640,727,000 after acquiring an additional 5,465,692 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Devon Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $154,170,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Devon Energy by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,395,225 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $340,236,000 after purchasing an additional 3,114,656 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Devon Energy by 135.5% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,371,518 shares of the energy company's stock worth $175,810,000 after buying an additional 3,090,585 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Devon Energy by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,461,719 shares of the energy company's stock worth $309,682,000 after buying an additional 2,335,473 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.72% of the company's stock.

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.

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