Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Now Covered by Analysts at Evercore

Evercore initiated coverage on shares of Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an in-line rating and a $54.00 target price on the energy company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Devon Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $44.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Mizuho raised their target price on Devon Energy from $51.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Capital One Financial decreased their target price on Devon Energy from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their target price on Devon Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Devon Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.41.

Devon Energy Trading Up 4.9%

Shares of NYSE DVN opened at $49.55 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.38. The company has a market cap of $30.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.43. Devon Energy has a 52-week low of $30.24 and a 52-week high of $52.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 15.22% and a net margin of 13.71%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Devon Energy will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. 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. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Adam M. Vela sold 24,342 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 130,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,162,793.40. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.66, for a total transaction of $3,267,553.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 428,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,991,570.32. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Devon Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,542,293 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,301,914,000 after purchasing an additional 212,074 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,177,835 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $700,238,000 after purchasing an additional 186,743 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 235,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC boosted its position in shares of Devon Energy by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC now owns 8,850,790 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $324,204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,195,862 shares during the last quarter. 69.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.