Devon Energy Corporation $DVN Shares Purchased by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management increased its Devon Energy stake by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, ending with about 13.9 million shares valued at roughly $509.8 million.
• Several analysts turned more bullish on DVN, with multiple firms raising ratings and price targets; the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $58.67.
• Devon Energy boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share from $0.24, while recent insider selling and mixed quarterly results showed earnings slightly missed expectations.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN - Free Report) by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,916,979 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,071,021 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 2.22% of Devon Energy worth $509,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DVN. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 702.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 802 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 61.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 808 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Devon Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Devon Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Devon Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 69.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on DVN. Wall Street Zen upgraded Devon Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Devon Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Raymond James Financial raised Devon Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Evercore raised Devon Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Devon Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of Devon Energy stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Andrea Alexander sold 18,000 shares of Devon Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.74, for a total value of $841,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 138,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,474,845.46. This represents a 11.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 112,371 shares of company stock valued at $5,258,059. 4.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Devon Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DVN stock opened at $45.26 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.09. The stock has a market cap of $28.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 0.37. Devon Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $31.45 and a 1 year high of $52.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.02). The firm 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%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Devon Energy Corporation will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Devon Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Devon Energy's payout ratio is presently 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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