Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) Shares Sold by Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) by 22.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,000 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 7,200 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Devon Energy were worth $978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 3.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,457,056 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,836,615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,559,039 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 16.8% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,913,516 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $469,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,428,776 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 1.5% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,183,778 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $435,311,000 after acquiring an additional 138,919 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 16.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,793,217 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $416,779,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 15.9% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 5,094,017 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $241,456,000 after acquiring an additional 699,743 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on DVN shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Devon Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Devon Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “sector outperform” rating on shares of Devon Energy in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Devon Energy in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Devon Energy from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.53.

Devon Energy Stock Performance

Devon Energy stock opened at $39.51 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $41.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.97 billion, a PE ratio of 7.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 2.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.11. Devon Energy Co. has a one year low of $37.76 and a one year high of $55.09.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The energy company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 29.14% and a net margin of 22.60%. Devon Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Devon Energy Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.79%.

Devon Energy 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.