Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $3.13 Million in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 71,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,131,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in OVV. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 57,458 shares of the company's stock worth $3,107,000 after acquiring an additional 14,978 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Ovintiv during the first quarter valued at about $525,000. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ovintiv during the first quarter valued at about $715,000. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new position in Ovintiv during the first quarter valued at about $224,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Ovintiv by 45.7% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 4,895 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on OVV shares. Mizuho restated a "buy" rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $69.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ovintiv

In other Ovintiv news, Director Howard John Mayson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.56, for a total transaction of $303,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,840 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,630.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Howard John Mayson sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.56, for a total value of $303,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,840 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,630.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Renee Ellen Zemljak sold 76,264 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.96, for a total transaction of $3,886,413.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,325.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 91,564 shares of company stock worth $4,660,818 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Ovintiv Price Performance

OVV traded down $1.16 on Monday, reaching $52.58. The company had a trading volume of 3,767,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,194,678. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.25. The company has a market cap of $14.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 2.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. Ovintiv Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.07 and a 52-week high of $55.95.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.41. Ovintiv had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 19.50%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.75 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ovintiv Inc. will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Ovintiv's payout ratio is currently 15.21%.

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.