Lazard Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV)

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,373 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,901 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Ovintiv worth $5,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of OVV. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ovintiv in the 4th quarter worth about $229,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ovintiv in the 4th quarter worth about $333,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 87.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 100.8% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. 83.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ovintiv Trading Down 3.5%

NYSE OVV opened at $37.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $9.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.58. Ovintiv Inc. has a one year low of $29.80 and a one year high of $51.72.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. Ovintiv had a net margin of 20.15% and a return on equity of 17.87%. Equities analysts forecast that Ovintiv Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on OVV shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $59.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. National Bankshares raised their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Ovintiv to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ovintiv from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ovintiv presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $55.65.

Ovintiv 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.