Morgan Stanley Reiterates Equal-Weight, Raises Price Target On Devon Energy On 4Q14 Production Beat, EPS Miss

In a report published Wednesday, Morgan Stanley analyst Evan Calio reiterated an Equal-Weight rating on Devon Energy Corp (NYSE: DVN), and raised the price target from $60.00 to $62.00.

In the report, Morgan Stanley noted, "DVN reported clean EPS of $0.83, below the Street's $1.05 and MS $0.94. Reported CFPS of $4.75 was above consensus' $3.56 and our $3.60 dueto a higher deferred tax rate of 163% vs 24-30% guidance. Production of 665Mboed beat the Street's 649 Mboed, MS 651 Mboed and guidance of 631-655 Mboed. However, despite strong operations, weaker than expected US NGL realizations ($17.75/bl vs MS $19.77 and guidance $20-30/bl), lower gas capture due to Canadian pricing (63% of HH vs MS 65% and guidance 63-73%) and higher taxes led the EPS miss."

Devon Energy closed on Tuesday at $66.65.