Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Stock Gets Price Target Boost from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $60.00 to $65.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the energy company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential upside of 37.14% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on DVN. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Devon Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Devon Energy from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. 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 report on Wednesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two 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.com, Devon Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.11.

Devon Energy Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of DVN traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.40. 2,412,053 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,265,343. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $46.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.33. The company has a market cap of $52.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.49. Devon Energy has a 1-year low of $31.47 and a 1-year high of $52.71.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The energy company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.01 billion. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 16.67%.The firm’s revenue was up 73.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. Research analysts expect that Devon Energy will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Devon Energy

In other Devon Energy news, EVP Robert Ferrall Lowe III sold 6,756 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total value of $344,218.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 72,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,705,084. This trade represents a 8.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Clay M. Gaspar bought 3,913 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $51.08 per share, with a total value of $199,876.04. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 619,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,626,284.16. This trade represents a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 4.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DVN. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Devon Energy by 57.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 95,378,854 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,941,054,000 after acquiring an additional 34,871,366 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 89.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,179,266 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,023,767,000 after acquiring an additional 34,615,088 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 418.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 51,522,376 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,128,905,000 after buying an additional 41,581,435 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Devon Energy by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,916,979 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $509,779,000 after purchasing an additional 2,071,021 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Devon Energy by 2.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,606,131 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $483,475,000 after buying an additional 235,561 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

About Devon Energy

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) is an independent energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company operates in the United States and focuses on onshore properties with oil- and liquids-rich resources.

Devon’s operations are concentrated in several major U.S. producing regions, including the Delaware Basin in the Permian Basin, the Eagle Ford, the Anadarko Basin, the Williston Basin and the Powder River Basin.