Banco Santander S.A. Raises Holdings in Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN)

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in shares of Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) by 68.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 240,499 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 98,135 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Devon Energy were worth $7,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DVN. EnCap Energy Capital Fund XI L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Devon Energy in the third quarter valued at $461,857,000. EnCap Partners GP LLC bought a new position in Devon Energy during the third quarter valued at $408,653,000. EnCap Energy Capital Fund X L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Devon Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $230,928,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Devon Energy during the fourth quarter worth $154,170,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Devon Energy by 16.9% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,591,168 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $453,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677,652 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DVN. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Devon Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Devon Energy from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Cowen downgraded Devon Energy to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Devon Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.87.

Devon Energy Trading Up 2.6 %

DVN opened at $34.74 on Friday. Devon Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $30.39 and a 12 month high of $55.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $35.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.68. The firm has a market cap of $22.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.62, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. This is an increase from Devon Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.05%.

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.