NFJ Investment Group LLC Trims Stake in Devon Energy Corporation $DVN

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group cut its Devon Energy stake by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 31,310 shares and leaving it with 148,114 shares valued at about $5.4 million.
• Several analysts turned more positive on DVN, with recent upgrades and higher price targets helping drive a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $58.67.
• Devon Energy reported quarterly EPS of $1.04, missing estimates, but it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share from $0.24, implying a 2.8% yield.

NFJ Investment Group LLC reduced its position in Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN - Free Report) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 148,114 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 31,310 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC's holdings in Devon Energy were worth $5,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in Devon Energy by 702.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 802 shares of the energy company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Devon Energy by 61.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 808 shares of the energy company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Devon Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Devon Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Devon Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. 69.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Devon Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Devon Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $46.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Devon Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.67.

Insider Activity at Devon Energy

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 shares were sold at an average price of $47.21, for a total transaction of $1,149,185.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 130,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,162,793.40. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Andrea Alexander sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.74, for a total transaction of $841,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 138,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,474,845.46. This trade represents a 11.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 112,371 shares of company stock valued at $5,258,059 over the last ninety days. 4.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Devon Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DVN stock opened at $45.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $28.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 0.37. The company's 50 day moving average is $47.04 and its 200 day moving average is $43.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Devon Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.45 and a 52-week high of $52.71.

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 business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.34 billion. Devon Energy had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 15.22%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Devon Energy Corporation will post 4.73 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from Devon Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Devon Energy's dividend payout ratio is 26.74%.

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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