Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 130,598 Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 130,598 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,289,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Ovintiv at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in OVV. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Ovintiv by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,845 shares of the company's stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 65,346 shares of the company's stock worth $2,647,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 33,171 shares of the company's stock worth $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 3,212 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,385 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,376 shares of the company's stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. 83.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on OVV. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Ovintiv in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $59.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank raised shares of Ovintiv to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.65.

Ovintiv Stock Down 2.0%

OVV traded down $0.73 on Friday, reaching $35.80. 24,051,027 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,344,411. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $35.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.25. Ovintiv Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.80 and a 52-week high of $51.72. The company has a market cap of $9.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.22. Ovintiv had a net margin of 20.15% and a return on equity of 17.87%. The firm had revenue of $2.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ovintiv Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Ovintiv's payout ratio is presently 51.06%.

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.