Altshuler Shaham Ltd Sells 421 Shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV)

Altshuler Shaham Ltd lessened its position in shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,015 shares of the company’s stock after selling 421 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd’s holdings in Ovintiv were worth $45,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Ovintiv by 10.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 528,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,157,000 after purchasing an additional 51,261 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 15.5% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 761,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,215,000 after buying an additional 101,978 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 10.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,029,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,285,816,000 after buying an additional 2,484,554 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 2.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,124,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,500,000 after buying an additional 27,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ovintiv during the third quarter valued at about $18,097,000. Institutional investors own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Renee Ellen Zemljak sold 76,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.96, for a total transaction of $3,886,413.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,206,325.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Rachel Maureen Moore sold 9,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.65, for a total value of $471,045.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,662,012.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Renee Ellen Zemljak sold 76,264 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 23,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,325.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 91,564 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,818. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on OVV. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. National Bankshares reduced their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $69.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Ovintiv in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ovintiv currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.71.

Ovintiv Stock Performance

OVV traded down $1.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $50.88. The company had a trading volume of 6,413,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,048,704. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $13.68 billion, a PE ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 2.65. Ovintiv Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.07 and a 12-month high of $55.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $51.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.71.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.41. Ovintiv had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 19.50%. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ovintiv Inc. will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.21%.

About Ovintiv

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.