Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $52.39 and last traded at $51.84, with a volume of 1097006 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $50.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank raised Ovintiv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Ovintiv in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. William Blair began coverage on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Ovintiv to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, National Bank Financial increased their price target on Ovintiv from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ovintiv presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.72.

Ovintiv Trading Up 1.6%

The firm has a market cap of $14.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last announced its quarterly 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. Ovintiv had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 12.00%. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ovintiv Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Ovintiv’s payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Gregory Dean Givens sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $2,016,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 105,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,269,616.11. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ovintiv

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OVV. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Ovintiv by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,059,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,418,000 after buying an additional 1,669,469 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Ovintiv by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,743,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,281,000 after acquiring an additional 855,043 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Ovintiv by 116.3% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Ovintiv by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 5,462,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,060,000 after purchasing an additional 650,000 shares during the period. 83.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.