Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Sets New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Devon Energy (DVN) reached a new 52-week high of $50.26 (last $50.2130), trading up about 3.5% on roughly 2.72 million shares.
• Several firms raised price targets (e.g., Raymond James to $52, Wells Fargo to $51, Piper Sandler to $67), leaving a MarketBeat consensus of Moderate Buy with an average target of $49.86 (24 Buys, 7 Holds).
• Devon slightly beat EPS expectations ($0.82 vs. $0.81) and reported $17.19 billion in quarterly revenue, declared a $0.24 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.96, 1.9% yield), and saw substantial institutional buying that lifted institutional ownership to about 69.7%.

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $50.26 and last traded at $50.2130, with a volume of 2718737 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DVN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Devon Energy from $59.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research upgraded Devon Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Devon Energy from $36.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.86.

Devon Energy Trading Up 3.5%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $42.76 and a 200 day moving average of $37.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The energy company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $17.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.67 billion. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 15.37%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Devon Energy Corporation will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Devon Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.02%.

Institutional Trading of Devon Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Devon Energy by 2,108.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,386,921 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $233,953,000 after acquiring an additional 6,097,658 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Devon Energy by 42,376.5% during the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,609,228 shares of the energy company's stock worth $132,206,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600,731 shares during the period. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC raised its position in shares of Devon Energy by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC now owns 8,850,790 shares of the energy company's stock worth $324,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,195,862 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 78.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,360,499 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $202,327,000 after purchasing an additional 2,802,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 608.8% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,695,079 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $98,721,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314,843 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.72% of the company's stock.

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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