Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $59.15, but opened at $63.00. Ovintiv shares last traded at $61.0990, with a volume of 148,646 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on OVV shares. Stephens reissued a “positive” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ovintiv from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Texas Capital upgraded shares of Ovintiv to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.79.

Ovintiv Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.52. The company has a market capitalization of $16.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.20). Ovintiv had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 14.84%. The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Ovintiv Inc. will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OVV. BCS Private Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ovintiv in the 4th quarter valued at about $976,000. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Ovintiv by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 997,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,079,000 after purchasing an additional 76,846 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ovintiv by 317.3% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 187,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,373,000 after buying an additional 142,800 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ovintiv in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,045,000. Finally, Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Ovintiv by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 600,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,514,000 after buying an additional 115,000 shares during the last quarter. 83.81% of the stock is 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.