Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) Short Interest Down 19.0% in March

Key Points

• Short interest in Ovintiv fell by 19.0% in March to 8,729,815 shares, equal to about 3.1% of shares sold short and a short-interest ratio of 1.7 days.
• Several brokers raised price targets (RBC to $70, Mizuho to $68, Scotiabank to $65, Goldman to $62) and MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $60.37 target (15 Buy, 6 Hold).
• Large institutional investors have been adding to positions—Dimensional, Millennium, Arrowstreet and others increased stakes—resulting in institutions and hedge funds owning about 83.81% of the stock.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on OVV. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Ovintiv from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Ovintiv from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Ovintiv from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Ovintiv in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Ovintiv from $49.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ovintiv has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.37.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Ovintiv by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,059,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $433,418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,669,469 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ovintiv by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,890,315 shares of the company's stock valued at $387,601,000 after acquiring an additional 203,256 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Ovintiv by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,743,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $264,281,000 after acquiring an additional 855,043 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 3,060,691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Ovintiv by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 5,462,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $214,060,000 after acquiring an additional 650,000 shares during the last quarter. 83.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ovintiv Price Performance

OVV stock traded up $0.62 during trading on Thursday, hitting $55.66. The stock had a trading volume of 2,992,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,275,934. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Ovintiv has a twelve month low of $32.16 and a twelve month high of $62.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.59. The company's 50-day moving average price is $53.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.42.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 12.00% and a net margin of 13.94%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.23) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ovintiv will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Ovintiv's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

About Ovintiv

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.

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