Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) Short Interest Up 62.7% in August

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) was the target of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,370,000 shares, an increase of 62.7% from the July 31st total of 3,300,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,990,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ovintiv

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OVV. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ovintiv by 1,202.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 13,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 12,813 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in Ovintiv by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 58,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,570,000 after acquiring an additional 6,764 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in Ovintiv by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 317,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,961,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ovintiv by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 543,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,879,000 after purchasing an additional 14,846 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in shares of Ovintiv by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the period. 83.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $66.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $52.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Ovintiv in a report on Friday, June 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.56.

Ovintiv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OVV traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $42.83. 2,964,318 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,970,271. Ovintiv has a 52 week low of $38.99 and a 52 week high of $55.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.43 billion, a PE ratio of 5.98, a PEG ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 2.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $45.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.21.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.02. Ovintiv had a net margin of 18.56% and a return on equity of 18.28%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ovintiv will post 5.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.76%.

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.