Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) Reaches New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Ovintiv hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $62.71 (last $62.64) on Monday with about 1.84 million shares changing hands.
• Analysts have been raising targets and ratings—Truist lifted its price objective to $72—and the consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $60.42.
• Fundamentals showed strength as Ovintiv beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.39 vs. $0.98) and pays a $0.30 quarterly dividend (about a 1.9% yield).

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $62.71 and last traded at $62.64, with a volume of 1837963 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OVV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Ovintiv from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Ovintiv in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Ovintiv from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Ovintiv in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised their price objective on Ovintiv from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.42.

Ovintiv Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $55.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.71.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company earned ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ovintiv Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Ovintiv's payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ovintiv

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OVV. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ovintiv by 263.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,949,637 shares of the company's stock valued at $199,866,000 after acquiring an additional 3,589,030 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake 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 period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Ovintiv by 25.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,389,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $379,165,000 after acquiring an additional 1,927,193 shares during the period. Goldentree Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Ovintiv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,528,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ovintiv in the third quarter valued at approximately $60,866,000. 83.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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