QRG Capital Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Devon Energy Corporation $DVN

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) by 47.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 207,698 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,473 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Devon Energy were worth $10,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DVN. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of Devon Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,931,000. Investors Research Corp grew its position in shares of Devon Energy by 13,787.5% during the fourth quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 27,775 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 27,575 shares in the last quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC increased its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 43.8% in the fourth quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC now owns 161,368 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,911,000 after purchasing an additional 49,115 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Devon Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $2,089,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Devon Energy by 79.6% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 799,587 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $29,289,000 after buying an additional 354,500 shares in the last quarter. 69.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Devon Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DVN opened at $40.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.38. Devon Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $31.45 and a 1 year high of $52.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Devon Energy Corporation will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from Devon Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Devon Energy’s payout ratio is presently 35.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Devon Energy news, SVP Adam M. Vela sold 24,342 shares of Devon Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.21, for a total transaction of $1,149,185.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 130,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,162,793.40. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Andrea Alexander sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.74, for a total transaction of $841,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 138,529 shares in the company, valued at $6,474,845.46. This trade represents a 11.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 112,371 shares of company stock valued at $5,258,059 over the last three months. 4.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Devon Energy from $46.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Devon Energy from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.38.

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.