Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Price Target Raised to $68.00

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) had its price target upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $65.00 to $68.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the energy company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on DVN. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho dropped their target price on Devon Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Devon Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.85 price target on shares of Devon Energy in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Devon Energy from $65.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.49.

Devon Energy Price Performance

Shares of DVN opened at $44.95 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $48.36 and its 200-day moving average is $46.12. Devon Energy has a one year low of $34.23 and a one year high of $52.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The energy company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.09. Devon Energy had a net margin of 16.22% and a return on equity of 14.86%. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. Devon Energy’s revenue was up 66.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Devon Energy will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Devon Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Robert Ferrall Lowe III sold 6,756 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total transaction of $344,218.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 72,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,705,084. This represents a 8.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Clay Gaspar bought 3,913 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $51.08 per share, for a total transaction of $199,876.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 619,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,626,284.16. The trade was a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 4.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Devon Energy by 57.6% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 95,378,854 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,941,054,000 after acquiring an additional 34,871,366 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Devon Energy by 89.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,179,266 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,023,767,000 after acquiring an additional 34,615,088 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Devon Energy by 418.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 51,522,376 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,128,905,000 after acquiring an additional 41,581,435 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Devon Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $421,226,000. Finally, GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Devon Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $402,558,000. 69.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Devon Energy

Devon Energy Corporation is an independent energy company focused on exploring for and producing oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include developing and operating producing properties and managing the infrastructure needed to bring its products to market. Founded in 1971, Devon is headquartered in Oklahoma City. Its operations are concentrated in U.S. onshore basins, including the Delaware Basin, Eagle Ford, Anadarko, Williston and Powder River basins. The company’s portfolio has evolved through acquisitions and asset sales over its history.