Devon Energy Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:DVN)

Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders bought 43,504 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 93% compared to the typical volume of 22,548 call options.

Devon Energy Price Performance

Shares of Devon Energy stock traded down $0.16 during trading on Thursday, hitting $34.31. 6,140,884 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,686,854. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $31.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.70. Devon Energy has a twelve month low of $25.89 and a twelve month high of $49.35. The company has a market cap of $22.03 billion, a PE ratio of 7.52, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Devon Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Devon Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Devon Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DVN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,780,738 shares of the energy company's stock worth $3,096,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,098,568 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,931,275 shares of the energy company's stock worth $552,830,000 after buying an additional 1,038,305 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 12.9% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,518,862 shares of the energy company's stock worth $430,805,000 after buying an additional 1,315,050 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,395,225 shares of the energy company's stock worth $340,236,000 after buying an additional 3,114,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 32.8% during the fourth 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. 69.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DVN shares. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $46.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $49.00 to $40.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $52.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Devon Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.71.

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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