Private Advisor Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Devon Energy Corporation $DVN

Key Points

• Private Advisor Group LLC cut its Devon Energy stake by 33.3% in the first quarter, selling 34,793 shares and leaving it with 69,800 shares valued at about $3.51 million.
• Devon Energy reported mixed quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.04 versus the $1.06 consensus while revenue came in at $3.81 billion, below expectations of $4.34 billion.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share from $0.24, implying a 3.0% yield and an annualized payout of $1.28 per share.

Private Advisor Group LLC lowered its stake in Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN - Free Report) by 33.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,800 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 34,793 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Devon Energy were worth $3,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Devon Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Devon Energy in the first quarter worth $235,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Devon Energy by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. DSG Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,176 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $2,072,000 after buying an additional 10,093 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Devon Energy by 33.2% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LB Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Devon Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $503,000. 69.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Devon Energy Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:DVN opened at $43.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $45.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.79. 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 results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.34 billion. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 15.22% and a net margin of 13.71%.Devon Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Devon Energy Corporation will post 4.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Devon Energy

In related news, SVP Adam M. Vela sold 24,342 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 130,540 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 428,452 shares in the company, valued at $19,991,570.32. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DVN shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Devon Energy from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on Devon Energy from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wolfe Research set a $67.00 price objective on Devon Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Capital One Financial cut their price objective on Devon Energy from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Two equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Devon Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.76.

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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