Devon Energy Corporation $DVN Position Boosted by Guinness Asset Management LTD

Key Points

• Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its Devon Energy stake by 27.8% in the fourth quarter, holding 208,143 shares valued at about $7.53 million. The filing also showed that institutional investors own nearly 69.7% of the company.
• Devon Energy’s executives sold shares recently, including EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour and SVP Adam M. Vela, though insiders still hold only 0.71% of the stock overall. The sales were disclosed in SEC filings and came at prices around $46.66 to $47.21 per share.
• Company news remains mixed but generally constructive: Devon recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share and announced a $2.6 billion Delaware Basin acquisition that adds drilling inventory. Analysts remain mostly bullish, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $57.30.

Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its holdings in shares of Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN - Free Report) by 27.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 208,143 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,301 shares during the quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD's holdings in Devon Energy were worth $7,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $415,319,000 after buying an additional 560,652 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,353,062 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $327,938,000 after buying an additional 552,068 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,223,219 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $288,306,000 after buying an additional 1,862,720 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,712,190 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $165,210,000 after buying an additional 246,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,286,761 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $115,234,000 after buying an additional 106,824 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Devon Energy news, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was 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 owned 428,452 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,991,570.32. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Adam M. Vela sold 24,342 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.21, for a total value of $1,149,185.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 130,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,162,793.40. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DVN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Devon Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Devon Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $63.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Devon Energy from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Devon Energy from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Devon Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.30.

Key Headlines Impacting Devon Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Devon Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Devon announced a major $2.6 billion acquisition of 16,300 net undeveloped acres in the core Delaware Basin, adding about 400 drilling locations and extending its long-term inventory. The company says the acreage has favorable economics, strong productivity, and will be funded with cash while keeping its credit profile intact. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on DVN to $66 from $59 and kept an overweight rating, signaling Wall Street sees upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Devon also said it completed merger-related integration steps with Coterra and launched note exchange offers, which may help simplify and manage the combined capital structure after the deal. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks users have been heavily searching for Devon Energy, which mainly reflects elevated investor attention rather than a direct fundamental change. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research mostly kept a Strong Buy view, but cut several near- and medium-term EPS estimates for Devon, which could modestly temper sentiment around future earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Devon’s recent exchange offers require eligible Coterra noteholders to accept slightly less than full principal value in the new notes and cash package, which is a mild negative for those holders even if it helps Devon manage debt after the merger.

Devon Energy Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Devon Energy stock opened at $47.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 0.43. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $48.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.94. Devon Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $30.24 and a 12-month high of $52.71.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.34 billion. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 15.22% and a net margin of 13.71%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Devon Energy Corporation will post 5.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This is an increase from Devon Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Devon Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.74%.

Devon Energy 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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