Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) Increases Dividend to $0.24 Per Share

Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 18th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of 0.24 per share by the energy company on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Devon Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22.

Devon Energy has raised its dividend payment by an average of 26.0% annually over the last three years. Devon Energy has a payout ratio of 18.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Devon Energy to earn $5.05 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.0%.

Devon Energy Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of DVN traded down $1.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $37.49. The company had a trading volume of 11,086,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,776,215. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $34.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.40. Devon Energy has a 52 week low of $30.39 and a 52 week high of $55.09. The company has a market capitalization of $24.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.98.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 18.14%. The firm had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.25 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Devon Energy will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Devon Energy from $54.00 to $46.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised Devon Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Devon Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Devon Energy in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Devon Energy from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Devon Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.83.

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.