Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 578,197 Shares of Devon Energy Corporation $DVN

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its Devon Energy stake by 75.8% in the second quarter, purchasing 578,197 additional shares to own 1.34 million shares valued at approximately $55.4 million.
• Devon Energy reported quarterly earnings of $1.57 per share, exceeding estimates of $1.40, while revenue reached $7.42 billion and rose 73.1% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $59.60. Devon also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, representing a 2.8% annualized yield.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN - Free Report) by 75.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,341,000 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 578,197 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of Devon Energy worth $55,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Devon Energy by 79.6% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 799,587 shares of the energy company's stock worth $29,289,000 after buying an additional 354,500 shares in the last quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC now owns 8,850,790 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $324,204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,195,862 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Devon Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,089,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Devon Energy by 15.5% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 194,773 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $9,801,000 after acquiring an additional 26,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Devon Energy by 20.0% in the first quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 479,681 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $24,138,000 after acquiring an additional 80,000 shares during the last quarter. 69.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DVN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Devon Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Devon Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Devon Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Devon Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Devon Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Devon Energy Stock Performance

DVN opened at $45.83 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.14. The company has a market capitalization of $50.41 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.38. Devon Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $31.47 and a 1 year high of $52.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The energy company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.01 billion. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 16.67%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 73.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. Research analysts expect that Devon Energy Corporation will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Devon Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Devon Energy's payout ratio is currently 30.40%.

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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