Ovintiv Inc. $OVV Shares Purchased by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) by 10.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 220,932 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20,969 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ovintiv were worth $13,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of OVV. Steph & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Ovintiv during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ovintiv in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ovintiv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in Ovintiv by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

Ovintiv Stock Up 3.6%

OVV opened at $61.30 on Thursday. Ovintiv Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.47 and a 52 week high of $64.61. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $56.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32 and a beta of 0.53.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.20). Ovintiv had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 14.84%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ovintiv Inc. will post 7.1 EPS for the current year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on OVV. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ovintiv from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ovintiv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Ovintiv from an “outperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.89.

About Ovintiv

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.