Strs Ohio Grows Holdings in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV)

Strs Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) by 31.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,508 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,280 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Ovintiv were worth $1,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Ovintiv during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,131,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 90.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 4,256 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 330,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,537,000 after buying an additional 5,521 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 1,202.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 13,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 12,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ovintiv during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,149,000. 83.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ovintiv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OVV opened at $52.18 on Tuesday. Ovintiv Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.07 and a 1-year high of $55.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $50.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a PE ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 2.65.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.41. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 19.16%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Ovintiv Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Ovintiv’s payout ratio is presently 15.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Howard John Mayson sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.56, for a total transaction of $303,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,862,630.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Howard John Mayson sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.56, for a total transaction of $303,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,862,630.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Renee Ellen Zemljak sold 76,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.96, for a total value of $3,886,413.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,206,325.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 91,564 shares of company stock worth $4,660,818. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OVV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of Ovintiv in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ovintiv from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Ovintiv from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ovintiv from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Ovintiv from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ovintiv currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.71.

About Ovintiv

Ovintiv Inc, together with its subsidiaries, explores, develops, produces, and markets natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids in the United States and Canada. The company operates through USA Operations, Canadian Operations, and Market Optimization segments. Its principal assets include Permian in west Texas and Anadarko in west-central Oklahoma; and Montney in northeast British Columbia and northwest Alberta.