Wedmont Private Capital Invests $288,000 in Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN)

Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 7,705 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DVN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Devon Energy by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 80,682,170 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,640,727,000 after purchasing an additional 5,465,692 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Devon Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $154,170,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Devon Energy by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,395,225 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $340,236,000 after acquiring an additional 3,114,656 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Devon Energy by 135.5% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,371,518 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $175,810,000 after acquiring an additional 3,090,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Devon Energy by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,461,719 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $309,682,000 after acquiring an additional 2,335,473 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

Devon Energy Trading Up 3.0%

NYSE:DVN opened at $34.49 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $22.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.02. Devon Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $25.89 and a 52 week high of $49.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.70.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The energy company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.27 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $4.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. Devon Energy had a net margin of 18.14% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Devon Energy Co. will post 4.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DVN has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Devon Energy from $45.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Devon Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Williams Trading set a $50.00 target price on Devon Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Devon Energy from $49.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Devon Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.71.

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.