Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Price Target Cut to $63.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) had its target price dropped by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $66.00 to $63.00 in a research note issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the energy company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 49.36% from the stock’s previous close.

DVN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Argus increased their price objective on Devon Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Devon Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Devon Energy in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore raised shares of Devon Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Devon Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.85.

Devon Energy Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of DVN opened at $42.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Devon Energy has a 1-year low of $31.45 and a 1-year high of $52.71. The stock has a market cap of $26.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.49.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.34 billion. Devon Energy had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 15.22%. Devon Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Devon Energy will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Andrea Alexander sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.74, for a total transaction of $841,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 138,529 shares in the company, valued at $6,474,845.46. This represents a 11.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of Devon Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.66, for a total value of $3,267,553.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 428,452 shares in the company, valued at $19,991,570.32. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 112,371 shares of company stock valued at $5,258,059 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Devon Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sapient Capital LLC boosted its position in Devon Energy by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 19,821 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $997,000 after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 467.3% in the first quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 51,553 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,594,000 after buying an additional 42,465 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 21.3% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 19,754 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $994,000 after buying an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 130,940 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $6,589,000 after buying an additional 15,705 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Devon Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

Devon Energy News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Devon Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs upgraded Devon Energy to strong-buy, which can boost sentiment by signaling greater confidence in the company’s outlook. Zacks.com
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor coverage continues to point to Devon as an attractive E&P name, with commentary noting cheaper valuation, a higher yield, and stronger return on equity than Diamondback Energy. Devon or Diamondback: Which E&P Stock Is the Better Investment?
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street coverage has highlighted bullish hedge fund positioning and meaningful upside potential, reinforcing the view that DVN remains a value-and-income play for investors. What Does Wall Street Say About Devon Energy (DVN)?
• Neutral Sentiment: Devon has been among the more searched stocks on Zacks, which suggests rising investor attention but does not by itself change fundamentals. Investors Heavily Search Devon Energy Corporation (DVN): Here is What You Need to Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Devon completed a note exchange that simplifies its capital structure, a generally positive balance-sheet move, though the immediate stock impact is likely limited. Devon Energy Simplifies Capital Structure With Note Exchange
• Negative Sentiment: Toms Capital taking a top-five stake adds activist pressure for operational improvements and potential asset sales, increasing uncertainty around Devon’s post-merger strategy and capital allocation. Devon Energy (DVN) Faces Fresh Activist Pressure As Toms Capital Takes Top Five Stake

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.