Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Ovintiv Inc. by 100.9% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 262,391 shares valued at $11.23 million.
• Ovintiv has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, which represents a 2.9% dividend yield on an annualized basis.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $53.94 for Ovintiv, with most ratings leaning towards a "buy" recommendation.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV - Free Report) by 100.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 262,391 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 131,793 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Ovintiv worth $11,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of OVV. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 1,577.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,458,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,587,000 after buying an additional 2,312,292 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its position in shares of Ovintiv by 243.6% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,564,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,870,000 after purchasing an additional 1,818,337 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ovintiv by 69.7% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,283,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348,221 shares in the last quarter. Webs Creek Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Ovintiv in the fourth quarter worth about $54,086,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in Ovintiv in the fourth quarter worth about $45,243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.81% of the company's stock.

Ovintiv Stock Performance

OVV stock traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $39.93. 1,658,436 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,590,647. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.10. Ovintiv Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.80 and a 12 month high of $47.18.

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

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Ovintiv's payout ratio is 53.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on OVV shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Ovintiv in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ovintiv from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup set a $54.00 price target on shares of Ovintiv and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $53.47.

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.