Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Devon Energy from hold to buy, adding to a broadly positive analyst view that includes a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $58.67.
• Other firms have also turned constructive on DVN, with Mizuho, Wolfe Research, and Raymond James raising price targets and Raymond James issuing a strong-buy rating.
• Devon Energy recently reported mixed quarterly results, with EPS of $1.04 slightly below estimates and revenue of $3.81 billion missing forecasts; the stock opened at $45.26 and insider selling was noted in recent months.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

DVN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Devon Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $46.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Devon Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.67.

Devon Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DVN opened at $45.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $28.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 0.37. Devon Energy has a 52 week low of $31.45 and a 52 week high of $52.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.09.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.34 billion. Devon Energy had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 15.22%. Devon Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. Research analysts predict that Devon Energy will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DVN. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in Devon Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,931,000. Investors Research Corp grew its stake in Devon Energy by 13,787.5% in the 4th quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 27,775 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 27,575 shares during the period. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC grew its stake in Devon Energy by 43.8% in the 4th quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC now owns 161,368 shares of the energy company's stock worth $5,911,000 after acquiring an additional 49,115 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Devon Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,089,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Devon Energy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,845,958 shares of the energy company's stock worth $415,319,000 after acquiring an additional 560,652 shares during the period. 69.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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