Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) Short Interest Up 8.3% in April

Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,620,000 shares, a growth of 8.3% from the March 31st total of 15,350,000 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,560,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Devon Energy from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Devon Energy from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Devon Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 549,710 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,221,000 after purchasing an additional 73,570 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 373,757 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $17,974,000 after buying an additional 9,823 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 64.4% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 54,639 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,606,000 after acquiring an additional 21,400 shares during the last quarter. Pearl River Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 367.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pearl River Capital LLC now owns 75,042 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,580,000 after acquiring an additional 58,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co grew its position in Devon Energy by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 86,795 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,140,000 after acquiring an additional 15,715 shares during the last quarter. 69.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Devon Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DVN traded down $1.90 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $51.18. 7,266,168 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,816,298. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $32.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78 and a beta of 2.19. Devon Energy has a 1-year low of $40.47 and a 1-year high of $55.09.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The energy company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.88 billion. Devon Energy had a net margin of 24.56% and a return on equity of 31.72%. The business’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Devon Energy will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.09%.

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.