Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $45.29 and last traded at $43.8630, with a volume of 584780 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DVN shares. Weiss Ratings raised Devon Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $48.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 5th. Mizuho set a $51.00 price target on shares of Devon Energy in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays raised shares of Devon Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $44.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.24.

Devon Energy Stock Down 1.7%

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $38.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $27.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.61.

Institutional Trading of Devon Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC grew its stake in Devon Energy by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC now owns 8,850,790 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $324,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,195,862 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 888,465 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $32,547,000 after buying an additional 35,258 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Devon Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $132,000. State of Wisconsin Investment Board increased its holdings in Devon Energy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board now owns 323,871 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $11,863,000 after buying an additional 2,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in Devon Energy by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 499,650 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $18,302,000 after acquiring an additional 79,252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

About Devon Energy

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The company focuses on the exploration, development, production and marketing of hydrocarbons, including crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and natural gas. Devon operates as an upstream energy company that acquires, evaluates and develops onshore resource plays using a combination of drilling, completion and production optimization techniques.

Core business activities include identifying and developing energy reserves, operating well programs and managing reservoir performance to generate production and cash flow.