Highland Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV)

Highland Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,480 shares of the company’s stock after selling 570 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ovintiv were worth $1,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in Ovintiv by 107.6% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 658 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Ovintiv by 62.5% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 931 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ovintiv during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Ovintiv during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Ovintiv during the third quarter worth about $38,000. 83.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on OVV. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ovintiv currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Howard John Mayson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,862,630.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Howard John Mayson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.56, for a total value of $303,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,862,630.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rachel Maureen Moore sold 9,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.65, for a total transaction of $471,045.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,662,012.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 91,564 shares of company stock worth $4,660,818. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Ovintiv Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of OVV stock opened at $51.37 on Thursday. 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 capitalization of $13.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.51 and a beta of 2.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.60. Ovintiv Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.07 and a fifty-two week high of $52.09.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. Ovintiv had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 19.50%. Equities research analysts predict that Ovintiv Inc. will post 5.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Ovintiv’s payout ratio is 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.