Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys 17,072 Shares of Ovintiv Inc. $OVV

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) by 49.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 51,270 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,072 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Ovintiv were worth $2,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in OVV. Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Ovintiv during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $936,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Ovintiv during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $79,475,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ovintiv during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,481,000. Core Capital Management & Research inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ovintiv in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,716,000. Finally, PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in shares of Ovintiv in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,738,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

Ovintiv Stock Performance

OVV stock traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $65.41. 3,167,334 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,423,048. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.58 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $64.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.56. Ovintiv Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.81 and a 52 week high of $73.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Ovintiv’s payout ratio is 24.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Roth Capital upped their price objective on Ovintiv from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Ovintiv from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised Ovintiv from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ovintiv from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Ovintiv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.86.

Ovintiv Profile

Ovintiv Inc. is an independent oil and natural gas producer focused on developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids in North America. Its operations include exploration, drilling and production, supported by infrastructure and marketing activities related to its energy products. The company’s principal operating areas include the Permian Basin and Anadarko Basin in the United States, as well as the Montney formation in Canada. Its production serves energy markets through sales of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.