UBS Group AG Grows Stock Holdings in Ovintiv Inc. $OVV

UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 997,177 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 76,846 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Ovintiv were worth $39,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OVV. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in Ovintiv during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ovintiv during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ovintiv during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ovintiv during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Ovintiv by 58.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

Ovintiv Stock Performance

Shares of OVV opened at $58.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $16.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $56.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.22. Ovintiv Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.32 and a 12-month high of $63.46.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. Ovintiv had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 12.00%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ovintiv Inc. will post 6.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Ovintiv’s payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OVV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ovintiv from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ovintiv has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Howard John Mayson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.39, for a total value of $261,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 45,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,398,414.20. The trade was a 9.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Meghan Nicole Eilers sold 11,582 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.78, for a total transaction of $634,461.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 54,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,963,159.76. This represents a 17.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.