Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN)

Key Points

• DVN call-option activity surged: Traders bought 47,557 call options, about 21% above the typical daily volume of 39,175 contracts, signaling increased bullish interest.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: Devon Energy has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $59.23, despite mixed recent target adjustments.
• Strong quarterly results and dividend support the stock: Devon exceeded earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue up 73.1% year over year, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, yielding approximately 2.7%.

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 47,557 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 21% compared to the typical daily volume of 39,175 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on DVN. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Devon Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of 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-two have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.23.

Devon Energy Price Performance

Shares of Devon Energy stock traded down $0.59 during trading on Friday, reaching $48.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,124,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,275,627. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Devon Energy has a one year low of $31.47 and a one year high of $52.71.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.17. Devon Energy had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 14.93%. The firm had revenue of $7.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 73.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Devon Energy will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Devon Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Andrea Alexander sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.74, for a total value of $841,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 138,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,474,845.46. This represents a 11.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Devon Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DVN. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of Devon Energy by 98.8% during the 1st 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Devon Energy during the second quarter worth $403,000. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 58.8% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 28,251 shares of the energy company's stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 10,464 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Devon Energy by 17.8% in the second 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 last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Devon Energy by 6.0% in the second 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.72% of the company's stock.

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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