Short Interest in Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) Drops By 7.3%

Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,350,000 shares, a drop of 7.3% from the March 15th total of 16,560,000 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 8,130,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Devon Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its stake in Devon Energy by 2.1% in the first quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 7,933 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in Devon Energy by 31.4% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 832 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,406 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 5.6% during the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 1.9% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,540 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. 69.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on DVN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Devon Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Devon Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Devon Energy from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Devon Energy from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Devon Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.89.

Devon Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Devon Energy stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.06. The company had a trading volume of 3,791,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,049,927. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $33.06 billion, a PE ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 2.19. Devon Energy has a fifty-two week low of $40.47 and a fifty-two week high of $55.46.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The energy company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.02. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 31.72% and a net margin of 24.56%. The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Devon Energy will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Devon Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.09%.

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.