River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 6,665 Shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV)

River Road Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 343,780 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,665 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ovintiv were worth $15,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in OVV. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ovintiv by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Ovintiv by 121.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 91,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,014,000 after purchasing an additional 50,152 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Ovintiv by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 146,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,435,000 after buying an additional 3,618 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in Ovintiv by 54.5% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 12,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 4,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 24,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after buying an additional 2,357 shares during the period. 83.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ovintiv Stock Performance

Shares of Ovintiv stock opened at $51.75 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $13.92 billion, a PE ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 2.65. Ovintiv Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.07 and a 12 month high of $55.95.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.41. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 19.16%. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Ovintiv Inc. will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Ovintiv’s payout ratio is currently 15.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OVV has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ovintiv from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Ovintiv in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Renee Ellen Zemljak sold 76,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.96, for a total transaction of $3,886,413.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,672 shares in the company, valued at $1,206,325.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Renee Ellen Zemljak sold 76,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.96, for a total transaction of $3,886,413.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,206,325.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Howard John Mayson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.56, for a total value of $303,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,862,630.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 91,564 shares of company stock worth $4,660,818 over the last quarter. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.