Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN)

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 38,111 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 46% compared to the typical volume of 26,047 call options.

Insider Transactions at Devon Energy

In other Devon Energy news, CEO Clay Gaspar acquired 3,913 shares of Devon Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $51.08 per share, with a total value of $199,876.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 619,152 shares in the company, valued at $31,626,284.16. The trade was a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Ferrall Lowe III sold 6,756 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total value of $344,218.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 72,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,705,084. The trade was a 8.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 4.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Devon Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Premier Financial Group acquired a new position in Devon Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Devon Energy by 56.6% during the second quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 678 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Devon Energy in the second quarter valued at $28,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in Devon Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Devon Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DVN. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Devon Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Devon Energy from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.85 price target on shares of Devon Energy in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.72.

Devon Energy Price Performance

NYSE DVN traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.99. The company had a trading volume of 4,573,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,945,383. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.30. The company has a market capitalization of $54.99 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Devon Energy has a twelve month low of $31.65 and a twelve month high of $52.71.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The energy company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.01 billion. Devon Energy had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 14.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 73.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Devon Energy will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Devon Energy’s payout ratio is 30.40%.

Devon Energy Company Profile

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) is an independent energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company focuses on onshore operations in the United States and markets the hydrocarbons produced from its assets to customers across the energy sector.

Devon’s portfolio has historically included major U.S. resource plays such as the Delaware Basin in the Permian Basin, the Eagle Ford, the Anadarko Basin, the Williston Basin and the Powder River Basin.