Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $52.39 and last traded at $51.84, with a volume of 1097006 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on OVV. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. William Blair assumed coverage on Ovintiv in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price target on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on Ovintiv from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.72.

Ovintiv Stock Down 0.8%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $43.44 and a 200-day moving average of $41.02. 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 company has a market capitalization of $14.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.69.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.41. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 12.00% and a net margin of 13.94%.The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Ovintiv Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.79%.

Insider Activity at Ovintiv

In other news, COO Gregory Dean Givens sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $2,016,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 105,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,269,616.11. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ovintiv

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 263.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,949,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,866,000 after purchasing an additional 3,589,030 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 116.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,692,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,101,000 after acquiring an additional 3,060,691 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 143.8% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,739,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,205,233 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Ovintiv by 25.8% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,389,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,927,193 shares during the period. Finally, Goldentree Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Ovintiv during the 4th quarter worth about $61,528,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

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.