Club holding Devon Energy (DVN) beat sales and earnings forecasts when it reported third-quarter results Tuesday, highlighting the oil-and-gas producer’s capital discipline and ability to generate cash amid a volatile oil market. Total revenue climbed about 57% year-over-year, to $5.43 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $4.95 billion, according to estimates from Refinitiv. Adjusted diluted earnings per share soared more than 100% compared with the year prior, to $2.18 a share, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13, according to Refinitiv. Note: Devon Energy is scheduled to host its post-earnings conference call on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. ET. We’ll follow up with any relevant information from management after the call. Bottom line We continue to applaud management’s strict adherence to capital discipline and the prioritization of per-share financial growth, steady and consistent exploration-and-production activity, free cash flow generation, and market-leading cash returns to shareholders over production growth at any cost. As a result, Devon remains one of the best oil operators in the country. We continue to rate the company a 2 in the portfolio , meaning we would be buyers on a pullback. Devon shares fell more than 2% in afterhours trading, to roughly $75.51 a share, driven by lower-than-expected production guidance for the fourth quarter, along with higher capex spending estimates than analysts predicted. However, the share price will likely take its cue Wednesday from West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. oil benchmark, which closed at $88.37 a barrel Tuesday. 3Q cash flow Operating cash flow for the quarter increased 32% year-over-year, to $2.1 billion, roughly in line with analysts’ estimates of $2.18 billion. Free cash flow grew 31% annually, to $1.48 billion, in line with forecasts of $1.45 billion. Capital expenditures came in at $690 million, which is at the low end of management’s $680 million to $755 million guidance range and below the $727 million predicted by analysts. Capital allocation At the Club, we pay close attention to cash flow metrics. The core of our investment thesis for our oil producers is that their capital discipline, combined with a favorable commodity price environment, will lead to significant cash flow generation, a large percentage of which then gets returned to shareholders via dividends and buybacks. The strong cash flow realized in the third quarter allowed management to announce a fixed-plus-variable dividend of $1.35 a share. That’s down from $1.55 per share in the prior quarter, as oil prices skyrocketed in the second quarter in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine before plummeting in the third. WTI fell by roughly 25% in the three months ended Sept. 30, though has since rebounded more than 10% on the back of production cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries . Still, Devon’s new payment to shareholders represents a solid 7% dividend yield on an annualized basis,…
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