Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $45.31, but opened at $42.96. Devon Energy shares last traded at $44.12, with a volume of 4,473,786 shares trading hands.

Specifically, SVP Andrea Alexander sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.74, for a total value of $841,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 138,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,474,845.46. This represents a 11.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DVN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Devon Energy in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Devon Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.44.

Devon Energy Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $47.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $27.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.38.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.02). Devon Energy had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 15.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Devon Energy Corporation will post 4.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Devon Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Devon Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Devon Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SouthState Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 173.6% during the first quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 766 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Devon Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Devon Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 702.0% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 802 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.