Savvy moves set them up for a rebound

Article Excerpt

DEVON ENERGY CORP. $39.25 (New York symbol DVN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (405-235-3611; www.dvn.com; Shares outstanding: 524.6 million; Market cap: $21.3 billion; Dividend yield: 0.6%) is one of the largest explorers and producers of oil and natural gas in the U.S. The production mix for the company’s 19,000 wells is 62% oil. and 38% natural gas. Devon’s output averaged 537,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (both oil and gas) for the fourth quarter, ended December 31, 2016. That’s down 21.1% from 681,000 a year earlier. Cash flow per share fell sharply, to $1.35 from $3.23. The decline was mostly due to the lower output. The company continues to cut costs and strengthen its balance sheet. That should let it quickly raise funds to accelerate drilling when oil and gas prices further rise. With the October 2016 sale of its 50% stake in the Access Pipeline, Devon received $1.1 billion; the company has now raised a total of $3.2 billion by selling some…