Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,751 Shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its stake in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,307 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,751 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Ovintiv were worth $527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in OVV. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Ovintiv by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 88,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,604,000 after acquiring an additional 2,639 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ovintiv during the fourth quarter valued at $7,773,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 52.6% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 15,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 5,381 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 489,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,814,000 after purchasing an additional 20,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 291,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,811,000 after purchasing an additional 55,125 shares in the last quarter. 83.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ovintiv Stock Performance

Shares of OVV opened at $39.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.20. The stock has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 1.10. Ovintiv Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.80 and a 52 week high of $47.18.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 6.46%. On average, analysts expect that Ovintiv Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on OVV. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ovintiv from $46.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 16th. TD Cowen raised Ovintiv to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Ovintiv from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Ovintiv from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup set a $54.00 price target on Ovintiv and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.47.

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.