Encompass Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 447,651 Shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV)

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV - Free Report) by 48.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,366,150 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 447,651 shares during the quarter. Ovintiv makes up 2.1% of Encompass Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.52% of Ovintiv worth $55,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new position in Ovintiv during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Ovintiv by 100.8% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 717 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ovintiv by 71.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 805 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in Ovintiv during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in Ovintiv during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on OVV. Barclays lowered their price objective on Ovintiv from $59.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Ovintiv from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ovintiv from $56.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $58.00 price target on Ovintiv in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $55.76.

Ovintiv Price Performance

Ovintiv stock traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $36.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,344,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,215,039. Ovintiv Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.80 and a 52 week high of $51.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $37.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.63. The stock has a market cap of $9.41 billion, a PE ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.14.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.22. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 17.87% and a net margin of 20.15%. The firm had revenue of $2.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.23 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ovintiv Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Ovintiv's payout ratio is 51.06%.

About Ovintiv

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.