North Dakota State Investment Board Purchases Shares of 9,022 Ovintiv Inc. $OVV

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $354,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OVV. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ovintiv by 263.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,389,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,927,193 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ovintiv in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,701,000. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 1,393.1% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 760,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,726,000 after purchasing an additional 709,962 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,888,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,747,000 after purchasing an additional 649,819 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on OVV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Ovintiv in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Ovintiv from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ovintiv from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Ovintiv from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Ovintiv from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Meghan Nicole Eilers sold 11,582 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 54,092 shares in the company, valued at $2,963,159.76. This represents a 17.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Howard John Mayson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ovintiv Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE OVV opened at $58.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.95 and a beta of 0.57. Ovintiv Inc. has a one year low of $34.99 and a one year high of $63.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 8.51%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ovintiv Inc. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. 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 is 38.71%.

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.