Empowered Funds LLC Sells 296,005 Shares of Ovintiv Inc. $OVV

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC reduced its holdings in Ovintiv Inc. by 75.8%, selling 296,005 shares and leaving it with 94,428 shares valued at approximately $4 million.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their stakes in Ovintiv, with Harbour Investments Inc. raising its investment by 143.8% during the same quarter.
• Ovintiv announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, translating to a 2.9% dividend yield, payable on September 29th to shareholders of record on September 15th.

Empowered Funds LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV - Free Report) by 75.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 94,428 shares of the company's stock after selling 296,005 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Ovintiv were worth $4,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ovintiv by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 43.4% during the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,154 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Ovintiv by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,890 shares of the company's stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ovintiv by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 69,212 shares of the company's stock worth $2,962,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in shares of Ovintiv by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 9,168 shares of the company's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.81% of the company's stock.

Ovintiv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OVV traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $42.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 789,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,480,853. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $40.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Ovintiv Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.80 and a 52 week high of $47.18.

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

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Ovintiv's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on OVV. Citigroup set a $54.00 price target on Ovintiv and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Ovintiv from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ovintiv from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays upped 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, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Ovintiv to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.53.

Ovintiv Company 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.