Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Sells 19,459 Shares of Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lessened its position in Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) by 32.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,970 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 19,459 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Devon Energy were worth $1,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,647,104 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $555,567,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220,194 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Devon Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,539,335 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $386,832,000 after purchasing an additional 68,339 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Devon Energy by 1.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,774,537 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $323,145,000 after purchasing an additional 82,607 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 1,279.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,145,605 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $278,396,000 after buying an additional 5,700,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,355,552 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $255,460,000 after buying an additional 697,849 shares during the period. 69.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Devon Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $59.00 in a report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Devon Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $53.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Devon Energy from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.44.

Devon Energy Price Performance

DVN stock opened at $50.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.04. Devon Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $40.47 and a 52-week high of $55.09. The company has a market capitalization of $31.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $49.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.25.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.06. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 29.02% and a net margin of 22.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Devon Energy Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Devon Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Devon Energy’s payout ratio is 16.79%.

Devon Energy Company Profile

Devon Energy Corporation, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. It operates in Delaware, Eagle Ford, Anadarko, Williston, and Powder River Basins. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.