Short Interest in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) Drops By 19.0%

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 8,729,815 shares, a decrease of 19.0% from the March 15th total of 10,783,673 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,264,604 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Ovintiv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OVV traded down $2.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.82. The stock had a trading volume of 3,814,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,216,949. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.50. The company has a market capitalization of $14.96 billion, a PE ratio of 10.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.59. Ovintiv has a 1 year low of $32.16 and a 1 year high of $62.60.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.41. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 12.00% and a net margin of 13.94%.The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ovintiv will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ovintiv

In related news, Director Howard John Mayson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.39, for a total transaction of $261,950.00. Following the sale, the director owned 45,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,398,414.20. This trade represents a 9.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Meghan Nicole Eilers sold 11,582 shares of Ovintiv stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.78, for a total transaction of $634,461.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 54,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,963,159.76. The trade was a 17.64% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ovintiv

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ovintiv by 263.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $223,101,000 after purchasing an additional 3,060,691 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 worth $379,165,000 after buying an additional 1,927,193 shares in the last quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Ovintiv during the fourth quarter worth $61,528,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ovintiv during the third quarter worth $60,866,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Ovintiv from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Ovintiv from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Ovintiv from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. National Bank Financial increased their target price on Ovintiv from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Ovintiv to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.37.

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.