Ovintiv Inc. $OVV Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its Ovintiv holdings by 13.7%, selling 21,835 shares and retaining 137,108 shares worth approximately $5.87 million at quarter's end.
• Multiple institutional investors have adjusted their stakes in Ovintiv, with some, like Harbour Investments and Quent Capital, significantly increasing their holdings by over 140% recently.
• Ovintiv plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, with a yield of 2.9%, to shareholders of record by September 15th, 2023.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV - Free Report) by 13.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,108 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,835 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Ovintiv worth $5,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of OVV. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new stake in shares of Ovintiv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in Ovintiv by 143.8% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 919 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the period. Gen Wealth Partners Inc increased its holdings in Ovintiv by 91.8% in the 1st quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,011 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ovintiv during the first quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Ovintiv by 146.5% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.81% of the company's stock.

Ovintiv Trading Up 0.5%

Ovintiv stock traded up $0.20 during trading on Monday, reaching $42.17. 2,540,319 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,819,671. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $40.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.91. The company has a market capitalization of $10.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 1.08. 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 earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.02). Ovintiv had a net margin of 6.46% and a return on equity of 14.24%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ovintiv Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Ovintiv's payout ratio is 53.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Barclays increased their target price on Ovintiv from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Ovintiv from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Ovintiv from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Citigroup set a $54.00 target price on shares of Ovintiv and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ovintiv has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $53.07.

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.