Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $4.78 Million Investment in Ovintiv Inc. $OVV

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 80,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,778,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of OVV. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,059,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,669,469 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ovintiv by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,890,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,601,000 after purchasing an additional 203,256 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Ovintiv by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,743,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,281,000 after purchasing an additional 855,043 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Ovintiv by 116.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,692,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,101,000 after purchasing an additional 3,060,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in Ovintiv by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 5,462,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,060,000 after purchasing an additional 650,000 shares during the last quarter. 83.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Ovintiv from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ovintiv from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ovintiv from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $57.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.47.

Ovintiv Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of OVV stock opened at $53.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. Ovintiv Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.47 and a 1 year high of $63.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12 and a beta of 0.53.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.15. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 8.51%.The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Ovintiv Inc. will post 8.07 EPS for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.71%.

Ovintiv Profile

Ovintiv Inc is a North American energy company focused on the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Formerly known as Encana Corporation, the company rebranded as Ovintiv in January 2020 and established its headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Ovintiv’s upstream portfolio spans multiple unconventional resource plays, reflecting a strategy centered on high-return projects and disciplined capital allocation.

The company’s core business activities include the acquisition and development of acreage in major shale basins across the United States and Canada.