Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $39.15 Million Position in Ovintiv Inc. $OVV

Key Points

• Arete Wealth Advisors LLC has acquired 914,641 shares of Ovintiv Inc., valued at approximately $39.1 million, making it the firm's largest position.
• Ovintiv recently reported earnings per share of $1.02, which missed analysts' expectations, and it had a revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter.
• The company declared a $0.30 quarterly dividend to be paid on September 29th, reflecting a 2.9% yield with a payout ratio of 53.10%.

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 914,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,147,000. Ovintiv comprises approximately 2.8% of Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC owned 0.35% of Ovintiv at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ovintiv by 383.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,258,570 shares of the company's stock worth $396,267,000 after acquiring an additional 7,344,796 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ovintiv by 69.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,572,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $238,513,000 after acquiring an additional 2,288,989 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ovintiv during the first quarter valued at about $56,865,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Ovintiv during the first quarter valued at about $46,603,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Ovintiv by 86.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,231,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033,309 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.81% of the company's stock.

Ovintiv Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OVV traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $42.35. The stock had a trading volume of 3,258,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,512,008. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business's fifty day moving average is $40.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.84. Ovintiv Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.80 and a twelve month high of $47.18. The company has a market cap of $10.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74, a PEG ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 1.08.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.02). Ovintiv had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 6.46%.The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Ovintiv Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Ovintiv's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ovintiv from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup set a $54.00 price objective on Ovintiv and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. TD Cowen raised Ovintiv to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ovintiv from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ovintiv from $46.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $53.07.

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.