QRG Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Devon Energy Corporation $DVN

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its Devon Energy stake by 47.1% in the first quarter, ending with 207,698 shares valued at about $10.45 million.
• Several other hedge funds also added to Devon Energy positions, and about 69.72% of the stock is now owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Devon Energy reported mixed operating results and remains favored by analysts, with a Moderate Buy consensus price target of $59.38; the company also recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share.

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN - Free Report) by 47.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,698 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 66,473 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Devon Energy were worth $10,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Devon Energy by 98.8% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 115,780 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $4,330,000 after acquiring an additional 57,555 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Devon Energy in the second quarter worth about $403,000. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 58.8% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 28,251 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $899,000 after purchasing an additional 10,464 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 148,882 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $4,736,000 after purchasing an additional 22,482 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Devon Energy by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 144,174 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $4,586,000 after purchasing an additional 8,127 shares during the last quarter. 69.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Devon Energy

In other news, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Adam M. Vela sold 24,342 shares of Devon Energy stock in a transaction 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 owned 130,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,162,793.40. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 112,371 shares of company stock valued at $5,258,059 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DVN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Devon Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Two investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.38.

Devon Energy Stock Down 0.1%

DVN stock opened at $40.44 on Friday. Devon Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $31.45 and a twelve month high of $52.71. 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 cap of $25.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.38. The business's 50-day moving average price is $45.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.61.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). Devon Energy had a return on equity of 15.22% and a net margin of 13.71%.The firm 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 company posted $0.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Devon Energy Corporation will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This is an increase from Devon Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Devon Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.65%.

About Devon Energy

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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