Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,640,000 shares, a decline of 22.9% from the August 31st total of 6,020,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on OVV shares. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Ovintiv in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Ovintiv from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Ovintiv from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Ovintiv from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Ovintiv in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.83.

Ovintiv Stock Performance

Shares of Ovintiv stock traded up $1.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $38.37. 5,628,571 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,086,793. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Ovintiv has a 1 year low of $36.90 and a 1 year high of $55.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.36, a PEG ratio of 7.32 and a beta of 2.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.32.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.02. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 18.56%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Ovintiv will post 5.26 EPS for the current year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ovintiv

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. American National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ovintiv during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Ovintiv in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ovintiv by 53.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ovintiv in the first quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ovintiv in the second quarter valued at about $69,000. 83.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.