Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) Short Interest Down 36.3% in February

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 10,205,406 shares, a decrease of 36.3% from the January 29th total of 16,010,265 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,919,803 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 5,919,803 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ovintiv

In related news, COO Gregory Dean Givens sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $2,016,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 105,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,269,616.11. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OVV. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Ovintiv by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 295,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,589,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Ovintiv by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,268,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,726,000 after buying an additional 150,053 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in Ovintiv by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 40,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,577,000 after acquiring an additional 9,385 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ovintiv in the fourth quarter valued at about $524,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 54.4% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,879,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,201,000 after acquiring an additional 662,495 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

Ovintiv Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of OVV traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.52. 3,863,215 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,627,527. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.88 and a 200-day moving average of $40.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.31 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.78. Ovintiv has a 1-year low of $29.80 and a 1-year high of $51.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.41. Ovintiv had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 12.00%. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.23) EPS. Analysts expect that Ovintiv will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Ovintiv’s payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OVV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Ovintiv to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Scotiabank raised Ovintiv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. National Bank Financial raised their price target on Ovintiv from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ovintiv has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.72.

Ovintiv Company 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.