Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its stake in shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) by 42.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,690 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,608 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Ovintiv were worth $1,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 528,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,157,000 after purchasing an additional 51,261 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Ovintiv by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 761,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,215,000 after buying an additional 101,978 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ovintiv by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,029,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,285,816,000 after buying an additional 2,484,554 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Ovintiv by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,124,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,500,000 after buying an additional 27,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ovintiv in the 3rd quarter worth about $18,097,000. 83.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ovintiv Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of OVV stock opened at $53.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 2.65. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.62.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. Ovintiv had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 19.50%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ovintiv Inc. will post 6.13 EPS for the current year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Ovintiv’s payout ratio is currently 15.21%.

Insider Transactions at Ovintiv

In other news, Director Howard John Mayson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.56, for a total transaction of $303,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,862,630.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Rachel Maureen Moore sold 9,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.65, for a total transaction of $471,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,662,012.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Howard John Mayson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 91,564 shares of company stock worth $4,660,818 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on OVV shares. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. National Bankshares decreased their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $69.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Four research 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 price target of $56.71.

Ovintiv Profile

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.