First Trust Advisors LP Trims Holdings in Ovintiv Inc. $OVV

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its position in shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) by 5.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 857,092 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,701 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Ovintiv were worth $32,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Ovintiv by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 101,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,339,000 after acquiring an additional 11,897 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Ovintiv by 8.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Ovintiv by 79.9% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 695,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,765,000 after purchasing an additional 308,790 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Ovintiv in the first quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in Ovintiv by 126.9% during the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 11,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 6,504 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Gregory Dean Givens sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.50, for a total transaction of $2,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 155,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,624,347.50. The trade was a 24.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ovintiv Stock Performance

NYSE:OVV opened at $41.68 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.73. Ovintiv Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.80 and a fifty-two week high of $46.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of 45.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.45.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. Ovintiv had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 12.22%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ovintiv Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 131.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on OVV. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ovintiv in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $55.00 target price on shares of Ovintiv and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $58.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 15th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ovintiv presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.83.

Ovintiv Company Profile

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.