Viking Fund Management LLC Buys 15,000 Shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV)

Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) by 25.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Ovintiv were worth $3,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in OVV. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ovintiv during the first quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Davis Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Ovintiv by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 19,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its holdings in Ovintiv by 3.4% during the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 29,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,510,000 after buying an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Ovintiv in the first quarter valued at $1,284,000. Finally, Abacus Planning Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ovintiv during the first quarter valued at about $266,000. 83.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Ovintiv from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ovintiv from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Howard John Mayson sold 4,000 shares of Ovintiv stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total transaction of $204,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,279 shares in the company, valued at $2,315,568.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Howard John Mayson sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $204,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,315,568.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven W. Nance sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,450. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ovintiv Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of OVV stock traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $46.54. The stock had a trading volume of 1,594,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,075,596. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $49.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.43 billion, a PE ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 2.58. Ovintiv Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.42 and a 52-week high of $55.95.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 17.74% and a net margin of 18.12%. Equities analysts expect that Ovintiv Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. Ovintiv’s payout ratio is 16.76%.

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.