Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) Short Interest Update

Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,880,000 shares, a growth of 22.5% from the November 30th total of 21,120,000 shares. Currently, 4.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 9,640,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DVN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Devon Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Devon Energy from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Devon Energy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Devon Energy from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Devon Energy from $60.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.05.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Devon Energy by 38.0% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,781 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 3,797 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Devon Energy by 1.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 731,978 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,635,000 after buying an additional 7,487 shares during the last quarter. IMS Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 49.3% in the third quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 18,660 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $730,000 after buying an additional 6,165 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Devon Energy by 90.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,363,090 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $58,435,000 after acquiring an additional 646,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in Devon Energy by 13.1% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 137,427 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,377,000 after acquiring an additional 15,929 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

Devon Energy Stock Performance

Devon Energy stock traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $32.71. 7,701,427 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,815,362. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.49 billion, a PE ratio of 6.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.99. Devon Energy has a fifty-two week low of $30.39 and a fifty-two week high of $55.09.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The energy company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.01. Devon Energy had a net margin of 21.71% and a return on equity of 24.73%. The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Devon Energy will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Devon Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.33%.

Devon Energy Company 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.