Plato Investment Management Ltd Buys 9,652 Shares of Ovintiv Inc. $OVV

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd significantly increased its stake in Ovintiv Inc. by 43,872.7%, bringing its holdings to 9,674 shares worth approximately $419,000 by the end of the first quarter.
• Ovintiv's recent earnings report showed $1.02 earnings per share, missing analyst estimates by $0.02, with revenues totaling $1.79 billion compared to expected $1.92 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 to be paid on September 29th, representing a 2.8% yield, and its dividend payout ratio is currently 53.10%.

Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV - Free Report) by 43,872.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,674 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,652 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Ovintiv were worth $419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ovintiv by 5.6% during the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,582 shares of the company's stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Ovintiv by 43.4% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,154 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Ovintiv by 16.9% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,890 shares of the company's stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Ovintiv by 0.6% during the first 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 during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in Ovintiv by 5.5% during the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 9,168 shares of the company's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. 83.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on OVV shares. Scotiabank lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $46.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Citigroup set a $54.00 target price on shares of Ovintiv and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $58.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.53.

Ovintiv Price Performance

OVV stock traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.66. The company had a trading volume of 835,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,482,776. The company has a market capitalization of $10.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.78. Ovintiv Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.80 and a 1-year high of $47.18. 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 (NYSE:OVV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Ovintiv had a net margin of 6.46% and a return on equity of 14.24%. Equities research analysts expect that Ovintiv Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

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

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.