South Dakota Investment Council Boosts Stake in Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN)

South Dakota Investment Council grew its position in shares of Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,426 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Devon Energy were worth $2,960,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Devon Energy during the third quarter worth about $8,002,000. Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new stake in Devon Energy during the third quarter worth about $9,426,000. Petrus Trust Company LTA lifted its stake in Devon Energy by 394.7% during the third quarter. Petrus Trust Company LTA now owns 21,827 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $854,000 after purchasing an additional 17,415 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Devon Energy by 6.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 107,182 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,193,000 after purchasing an additional 6,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smead Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Devon Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,879,516 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $230,007,000 after purchasing an additional 198,193 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

Devon Energy Stock Down 2.8 %

DVN stock opened at $37.49 on Monday. Devon Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $30.39 and a fifty-two week high of $55.09. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $34.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.31. 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 $24.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.98.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The energy company reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 18.14%. As a group, analysts forecast that Devon Energy Co. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. This is an increase from Devon Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DVN. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Devon Energy from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Devon Energy in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Devon Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Cowen lowered Devon Energy to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $46.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Devon Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Devon Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.83.

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.