Rafferty Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in Devon Energy Corporation $DVN

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) by 17.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 279,795 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 57,695 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Devon Energy were worth $10,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DVN. Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Devon Energy by 7.0% in the first quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,091 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 4.1% in the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 8,131 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Devon Energy by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,794 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Devon Energy by 84.4% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 4,462 shares during the period. Finally, Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Devon Energy during the 1st quarter worth $432,000. 69.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bernstein Bank decreased their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Devon Energy from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Devon Energy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Devon Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank upped their price target on Devon Energy from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Devon Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.15.

Devon Energy Trading Up 0.8%

Devon Energy stock opened at $35.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.55 billion, a PE ratio of 7.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Devon Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.89 and a 12-month high of $45.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.18.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Devon Energy had a net margin of 16.57% and a return on equity of 18.59%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Devon Energy Corporation will post 4.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Devon Energy’s payout ratio is currently 21.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kelt Kindick sold 7,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.46, for a total transaction of $257,140.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 31,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,061.46. This represents a 19.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Devon Energy Profile

Devon Energy Corporation, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. It operates in Delaware, Eagle Ford, Anadarko, Williston, and Powder River Basins. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.