Ovintiv Inc. $OVV Shares Bought by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. dramatically increased its Ovintiv stake in Q4, buying 579,926 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 583,304 shares valued at about $22.86 million.
• Ovintiv beat first-quarter earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $2.00 versus the $1.85 consensus, while revenue came in slightly ahead of estimates at $2.40 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, implying a 2.0% annualized yield, even as analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus on the stock.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV - Free Report) by 17,167.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 583,304 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 579,926 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned about 0.23% of Ovintiv worth $22,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tejara Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Ovintiv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,986,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ovintiv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $228,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 82,750 shares of the company's stock worth $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 122.6% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 24,441 shares of the company's stock worth $958,000 after purchasing an additional 13,462 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 18,649 shares of the company's stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.81% of the company's stock.

Ovintiv Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:OVV opened at $60.89 on Wednesday. Ovintiv Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.88 and a 1 year high of $63.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The business's 50 day moving average price is $57.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.46.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.15. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 8.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ovintiv Inc. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Ovintiv's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on OVV. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ovintiv from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ovintiv news, Director Howard John Mayson sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.39, for a total value of $261,950.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 45,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,398,414.20. This trade represents a 9.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Meghan Nicole Eilers sold 11,582 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.78, for a total value of $634,461.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 54,092 shares in the company, valued at $2,963,159.76. The trade was a 17.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Ovintiv Profile

Ovintiv Inc is a North American energy company focused on the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Formerly known as Encana Corporation, the company rebranded as Ovintiv in January 2020 and established its headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Ovintiv's upstream portfolio spans multiple unconventional resource plays, reflecting a strategy centered on high-return projects and disciplined capital allocation.

The company's core business activities include the acquisition and development of acreage in major shale basins across the United States and Canada.

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