Devon Energy Corporation $DVN Shares Purchased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Key Points

• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its Devon Energy stake by 15.5% in the first quarter, buying 26,209 additional shares and bringing its total to 194,773 shares worth about $9.8 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mostly positive: Devon Energy has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with analysts setting an average price target of $59.32 after several recent target hikes and upgrades.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share, implying a 3.0% annual yield, even though its latest earnings missed expectations on both EPS and revenue.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 194,773 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,209 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Devon Energy were worth $9,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DVN. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Devon Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. SouthState Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 173.6% during the first quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 766 shares of the energy company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Devon Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Devon Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its position in Devon Energy by 6,666.7% in the 1st quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 812 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. 69.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DVN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Devon Energy from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Tudor Pickering raised Devon Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Devon Energy from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.32.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Adam M. Vela sold 24,342 shares of Devon Energy 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 in the company, valued at $6,162,793.40. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 428,452 shares in the company, valued at $19,991,570.32. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 112,371 shares of company stock valued at $5,258,059 in the last three months. 4.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Devon Energy Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE DVN opened at $43.03 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 stock has a market capitalization of $26.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 0.38. Devon Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.47 and a 52-week high of $52.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.07.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.02). Devon Energy had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 15.22%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. Devon Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Devon Energy Corporation will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from Devon Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Devon Energy's payout ratio is 35.65%.

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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