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

Key Points

• Unusually heavy options activity: Devon Energy saw 79,300 call options traded on Tuesday, about 112% above its normal daily call volume, suggesting heightened investor interest.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive: Despite a recent downgrade from Zacks, the broader analyst view is still Moderate Buy, with 25 Buy/Strong Buy ratings and an average price target of $57.89.
• Dividend and earnings updates: Devon raised its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share, while its latest quarterly results missed estimates on both EPS and revenue. The stock also saw insider share sales, including transactions by two executives in May.

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 79,300 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 112% compared to the typical daily volume of 37,332 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Devon Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Capital One Financial decreased their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Devon Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.89.

Devon Energy Stock Performance

DVN traded down $0.04 on Tuesday, hitting $46.24. 18,751,304 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,327,251. The firm has a market cap of $28.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 0.38. Devon Energy has a twelve month low of $30.75 and a twelve month high of $52.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.34 billion. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 15.22% and a net margin of 13.71%.Devon Energy's revenue was down 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Devon Energy will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Devon Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Devon Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Devon Energy news, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of Devon Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.66, for a total value of $3,267,553.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 428,452 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,991,570.32. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Adam M. Vela sold 24,342 shares of Devon Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Devon Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tobam grew its position in Devon Energy by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 1,633 shares of the energy company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Devon Energy by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 7,152 shares of the energy company's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Devon Energy by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,712 shares of the energy company's stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Devon Energy by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the energy company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its position in Devon Energy by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 3,527 shares of the energy company's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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