Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN)

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,452 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,488 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Devon Energy were worth $3,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 15.5% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 549,710 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,221,000 after buying an additional 73,570 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Devon Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 373,757 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $17,974,000 after purchasing an additional 9,823 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings 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 worth $2,606,000 after purchasing an additional 21,400 shares during the last quarter. Pearl River Capital LLC boosted its position in Devon Energy by 367.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pearl River Capital LLC now owns 75,042 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,580,000 after buying an additional 58,997 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Trust Co grew its holdings in Devon Energy by 22.1% in 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. Institutional investors own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Devon Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Devon Energy from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $53.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Devon Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.44.

Devon Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DVN opened at $50.71 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $32.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 2.16. Devon Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $40.47 and a 1-year high of $55.09.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.64 billion. Devon Energy had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 29.02%. Devon Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Research analysts expect that Devon Energy Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Devon Energy news, EVP Tana K. Cashion sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.04, for a total transaction of $1,020,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,317,449.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.