Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 1,911,519 Shares of Ovintiv Inc. $OVV

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its Ovintiv stake by 6.4% in Q4, selling 1,911,519 shares but still holds 27,836,795 shares (about 10.99% of the company) valued at roughly $1.09 billion, and institutional investors own 83.81% of the stock.
• Ovintiv beat quarterly EPS ($1.39 vs. $0.98) with revenue in line, and analysts have raised targets — the stock carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $60.42 and individual targets up to $72.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.30 (annualized $1.20) for a 2.0% yield, while corporate insiders have recently sold small positions and now own 0.85% of shares.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 27,836,795 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,911,519 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.99% of Ovintiv worth $1,090,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Ovintiv by 25.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,389,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $379,165,000 after acquiring an additional 1,927,193 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Ovintiv by 12.4% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,888,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,747,000 after acquiring an additional 649,819 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ovintiv by 263.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,949,637 shares of the company's stock valued at $199,866,000 after acquiring an additional 3,589,030 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Ovintiv by 8.6% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,740,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,671,000 after acquiring an additional 216,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Ovintiv by 5.1% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,619,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,780,000 after acquiring an additional 126,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on OVV. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $54.00 price target on shares of Ovintiv in a report on Saturday, January 17th. National Bank Financial raised their price target on Ovintiv from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Ovintiv from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Ovintiv from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Ovintiv in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.42.

Ovintiv Stock Performance

Shares of OVV stock opened at $60.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $17.24 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $55.74 and a 200-day moving average of $45.60. Ovintiv Inc. has a one year low of $33.26 and a one year high of $62.60.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 12.00% and a net margin of 13.94%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.23) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ovintiv Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Ovintiv's dividend payout ratio is 24.79%.

Insider Transactions at Ovintiv

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

About Ovintiv

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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