World Investment Advisors Sells 115,978 Shares of Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN)

World Investment Advisors trimmed its position in Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) by 77.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 33,459 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 115,978 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Devon Energy were worth $1,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DVN. Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 165.2% in the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 16,268 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 10,133 shares during the last quarter. Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new position in Devon Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $468,000. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Devon Energy by 84.6% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,910 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Devon Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,931,275 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $552,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038,305 shares during the last quarter. 69.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on DVN shares. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $51.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Cowen downgraded Devon Energy to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Devon Energy from $49.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.17.

Devon Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DVN opened at $29.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Devon Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $29.06 and a twelve month high of $55.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $35.22 and a 200-day moving average of $36.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.50.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The energy company reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. Devon Energy had a net margin of 18.14% and a return on equity of 22.52%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Devon Energy Co. will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. This is a positive change from Devon Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.05%.

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.