Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) Position Lowered by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,376 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 363 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Devon Energy were worth $153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Devon Energy by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,145,039 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $715,360,000 after buying an additional 823,626 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 23.6% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,647,104 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $555,567,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220,194 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 5.1% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,470,996 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $404,067,000 after purchasing an additional 411,777 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Devon Energy by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 8,429,670 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $402,095,000 after purchasing an additional 402,055 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Devon Energy by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,371,571 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $435,881,000 after purchasing an additional 99,059 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

Devon Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DVN opened at $51.67 on Thursday. Devon Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $40.47 and a twelve month high of $55.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.82. The company has a market capitalization of $32.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 2.19.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The energy company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.88 billion. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 31.72% and a net margin of 24.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Devon Energy Co. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on DVN. Raymond James cut their target price on Devon Energy from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Devon Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Devon Energy from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Devon Energy from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Devon Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.89.

About Devon Energy

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.