Westerkirk Capital Inc. Acquires 22,500 Shares of Devon Energy Corporation $DVN

Westerkirk Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) by 55.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 63,300 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 22,500 shares during the quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in Devon Energy were worth $2,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of Devon Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $9,931,000. Investors Research Corp boosted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 13,787.5% in the fourth quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 27,775 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 27,575 shares during the period. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 49,115 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 5.0% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,845,958 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $415,319,000 after acquiring an additional 560,652 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 354,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DVN. Raymond James Financial raised Devon Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Devon Energy from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Devon Energy from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Devon Energy from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Devon Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.67.

Key Headlines Impacting Devon Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Devon Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan reinstated coverage on Devon Energy with an Overweight rating and a $62 price target, signaling analyst confidence in the stock’s upside potential. Devon Energy moved to Overweight at J.P. Morgan on ‘core of the core’ acreage
• Positive Sentiment: Devon’s exchange offers for Coterra notes saw strong early tender participation, which may support the company’s restructuring and debt-management efforts. Devon Announces Results of Early Participation in Private Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations and Extension of Deadline to Receive Total Exchange Consideration
• Positive Sentiment: Investor discussion has turned optimistic around Devon’s capital-return strategy, including its share repurchase program and higher dividend after the Coterra merger. Devon Energy Reshapes Portfolio And Capital Returns After Coterra Merger
• Neutral Sentiment: Energy stocks were broadly firmer in premarket trading, providing a supportive sector backdrop for Devon Energy. Sector Update: Energy Stocks Advance Premarket Monday
• Neutral Sentiment: One insider sale was disclosed in recent months, but this appears secondary to the larger analyst and corporate-action catalysts. Devon Energy Stock (DVN) Opinions on Analyst Coverage Reinstatement

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Devon Energy news, SVP Adam M. Vela sold 24,342 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.21, for a total transaction of $1,149,185.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 130,540 shares in the company, valued at $6,162,793.40. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.66, for a total value of $3,267,553.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 428,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,991,570.32. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 4.58% of the company’s stock.

Devon Energy Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of DVN stock opened at $45.11 on Tuesday. Devon Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $31.45 and a 1 year high of $52.71. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.87. The company has a market cap of $28.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.38.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Devon Energy Corporation will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Devon Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.74%.

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.