Cerity Partners LLC Grows Holdings in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV - Free Report) by 76.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 118,462 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 51,213 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Ovintiv were worth $5,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new position in Ovintiv during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in Ovintiv during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in Ovintiv during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Ovintiv by 451.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 940 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Ovintiv by 146.5% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,134 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. 83.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on OVV. Mizuho lowered 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. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ovintiv from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $55.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ovintiv from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ovintiv presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.47.

Ovintiv Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of OVV stock traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $40.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,349,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,356,136. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $38.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.68. Ovintiv Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.80 and a 12-month high of $48.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a PE ratio of 6.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.08.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.22. Ovintiv had a net margin of 6.84% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm had revenue of $2.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Ovintiv Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Ovintiv's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.