Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Devon Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Devon Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Devon Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $61.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.11.

Devon Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DVN opened at $47.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.42 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $46.99 and a 200-day moving average of $46.34. Devon Energy has a one year low of $31.47 and a one year high of $52.71.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The energy company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.17. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 73.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Devon Energy will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Devon Energy

In other news, EVP Robert Ferrall Lowe III sold 6,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total transaction of $344,218.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 72,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,705,084. This trade represents a 8.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Clay M. Gaspar purchased 3,913 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 619,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,626,284.16. This represents a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 4.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Devon Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 57.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 95,378,854 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,941,054,000 after purchasing an additional 34,871,366 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 89.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,179,266 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,023,767,000 after purchasing an additional 34,615,088 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Devon Energy by 418.3% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 51,522,376 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,128,905,000 after purchasing an additional 41,581,435 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $509,779,000 after purchasing an additional 2,071,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Devon Energy during the second quarter worth $421,226,000. Institutional investors own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

Devon Energy Company Profile

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.