Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.75 Million in Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 38,700 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 2.1% in the first quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 7,933 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 4.9% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,406 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 1.9% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,540 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Devon Energy by 9.0% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,681 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Devon Energy by 2.1% during the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 11,887 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 69.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Devon Energy Price Performance

DVN stock opened at $51.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $32.66 billion, a PE ratio of 8.82 and a beta of 2.19. Devon Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $40.47 and a 12-month high of $55.09. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $47.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.86.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.88 billion. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 31.72% and a net margin of 24.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Devon Energy Co. will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Devon Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on DVN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 lifted their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Devon Energy from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays began coverage on Devon Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on Devon Energy from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.89.

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.