Investors Purchase High Volume of Devon Energy Call Options (NYSE:DVN)

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors bought 47,557 call options on the company. This is an increase of 21% compared to the typical volume of 39,175 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on DVN. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wolfe Research set a $67.00 target price on Devon Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Devon Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Devon Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.85 price objective on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Monday, August 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.23.

Devon Energy Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE DVN traded down $0.59 on Friday, reaching $48.20. The company had a trading volume of 4,124,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,275,627. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.72. Devon Energy has a 1-year low of $31.47 and a 1-year high of $52.71. The company’s fifty day moving average is $44.67 and its 200-day moving average is $45.77.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The energy company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.17. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 16.67%.The firm had revenue of $7.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 73.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Devon Energy will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.40%.

Insider Activity at Devon Energy

In related news, SVP Andrea Alexander sold 18,000 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 138,529 shares in the company, valued at $6,474,845.46. This trade represents a 11.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 4.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Devon Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Devon Energy by 79.6% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 799,587 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $29,289,000 after acquiring an additional 354,500 shares during the last quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC raised its holdings in Devon Energy by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC now owns 8,850,790 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $324,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,195,862 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Devon Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,089,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 194,773 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $9,801,000 after purchasing an additional 26,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Devon Energy by 20.0% during the first quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 479,681 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $24,138,000 after buying an additional 80,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

Devon Energy Company Profile

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.