Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Shares Up 0.1% – Here’s Why

Shares of Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $38.45 and last traded at $38.45. 1,595,853 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 10,618,838 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DVN. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Devon Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Devon Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Devon Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Benchmark upgraded shares of Devon Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $49.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Devon Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.27.

Devon Energy Price Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The energy company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. Devon Energy had a net margin of 21.71% and a return on equity of 24.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Devon Energy Co. will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.33%.

Institutional Trading of Devon Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,892,970 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $619,747,000 after purchasing an additional 206,884 shares in the last quarter. EnCap Energy Capital Fund XI L.P. bought a new position in shares of Devon Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $461,857,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Devon Energy by 16.9% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,591,168 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $453,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677,652 shares during the period. EnCap Partners GP LLC bought a new position in shares of Devon Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $408,653,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Devon Energy by 3.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,971,343 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $390,079,000 after acquiring an additional 361,968 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

About Devon Energy

Devon Energy Corporation, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. It operates in Delaware, Eagle Ford, Anadarko, Williston, and Powder River Basins. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.