JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Price Target to $55.00

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $62.00 to $55.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the energy company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 26.71% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Devon Energy from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Devon Energy from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Devon Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Devon Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Devon Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.76.

Devon Energy Price Performance

Devon Energy stock traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.41. 3,171,856 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,258,143. The company’s fifty day moving average is $45.26 and its 200-day moving average is $43.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $26.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.38. Devon Energy has a 52 week low of $31.45 and a 52 week high of $52.71.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.34 billion. Devon Energy had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 15.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Devon Energy will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Devon Energy news, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Adam M. Vela sold 24,342 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.21, for a total transaction of $1,149,185.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 130,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,162,793.40. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 112,371 shares of company stock valued at $5,258,059 over the last quarter. 4.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Devon Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Devon Energy by 2,108.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,386,921 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $233,953,000 after acquiring an additional 6,097,658 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Devon Energy by 42,376.5% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,609,228 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $132,206,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600,731 shares in the last quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Devon Energy by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC now owns 8,850,790 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $324,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,195,862 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Devon Energy by 78.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,360,499 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $202,327,000 after purchasing an additional 2,802,137 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 92.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,180,682 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $260,692,000 after purchasing an additional 2,485,603 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

Devon Energy Company Profile

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.