Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on DVN. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $63.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $59.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $46.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.85.

Devon Energy Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:DVN opened at $44.14 on Wednesday. Devon Energy has a 12 month low of $30.24 and a 12 month high of $52.71. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $48.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $27.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 0.43.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.02). Devon Energy had a return on equity of 15.22% and a net margin of 13.71%.The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Devon Energy will post 4.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Devon Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Devon Energy’s payout ratio is 26.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Adam M. Vela sold 24,342 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.21, for a total value of $1,149,185.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 130,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,162,793.40. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.66, for a total transaction of $3,267,553.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 428,452 shares in the company, valued at $19,991,570.32. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Devon Energy by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,945 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,469,000 after acquiring an additional 7,000 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Devon Energy by 75.7% during the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 140,155 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $7,053,000 after acquiring an additional 60,390 shares during the last quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Devon Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,068,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Devon Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $711,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Devon Energy by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,214,358 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $312,706,000 after acquiring an additional 223,665 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

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.