Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stake in Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) by 10.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 78,428 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,626 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Devon Energy were worth $3,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Devon Energy by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,081 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 6,558 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Devon Energy by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 654,157 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $30,621,000 after purchasing an additional 62,075 shares during the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its position in Devon Energy by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 32,429 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 2,540 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Devon Energy by 151.3% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 65,522 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,968,000 after purchasing an additional 39,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Devon Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

Devon Energy Price Performance

DVN opened at $40.01 on Friday. Devon Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $39.02 and a 1 year high of $55.09. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.29 billion, a PE ratio of 7.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 2.03. 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 (NYSE:DVN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The energy company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. Devon Energy had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 29.14%. Devon Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Devon Energy Co. will post 5.37 EPS for the current year.

Devon Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on DVN. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Devon Energy in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $48.00 to $43.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Devon Energy from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Devon Energy from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Devon Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.81.

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.