Prudential PLC Acquires 43,945 Shares of Ovintiv Inc. $OVV

Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) by 125.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,896 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,945 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Ovintiv were worth $3,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Ovintiv by 42.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 174,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,030,000 after purchasing an additional 51,562 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Ovintiv in the third quarter valued at $1,816,000. BCS Private Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Ovintiv in the fourth quarter valued at $976,000. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in Ovintiv by 412.9% in the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 36,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 29,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its position in Ovintiv by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 997,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,079,000 after purchasing an additional 76,846 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $49.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ovintiv from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.00.

Ovintiv Stock Performance

Shares of OVV opened at $56.74 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $58.05 and a 200-day moving average of $49.19. Ovintiv Inc. has a one year low of $35.47 and a one year high of $63.46. The company has a market cap of $15.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 0.53. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.15. Ovintiv had a net margin of 8.51% and a return on equity of 13.14%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ovintiv Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Ovintiv’s payout ratio is presently 38.71%.

Insider Activity at Ovintiv

In related news, EVP Meghan Nicole Eilers sold 11,582 shares of Ovintiv stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.78, for a total transaction of $634,461.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 54,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,963,159.76. The trade was a 17.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.