Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) Short Interest Update

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,030,000 shares, an increase of 41.1% from the February 28th total of 7,110,000 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,220,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Ovintiv Price Performance

Shares of OVV stock traded up $0.72 on Monday, hitting $42.94. 3,055,300 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,066,297. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Ovintiv has a 52 week low of $36.62 and a 52 week high of $55.95. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.96. The firm has a market cap of $11.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 2.55.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. Ovintiv’s payout ratio is 28.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ovintiv

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Ovintiv by 1,732.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,387,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,134,000 after acquiring an additional 3,203,087 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Ovintiv by 1,577.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,458,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312,292 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 243.6% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,564,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,870,000 after purchasing an additional 1,818,337 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ovintiv by 69.7% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,283,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webs Creek Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Ovintiv in the fourth quarter worth about $54,086,000. 83.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $56.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. National Bankshares raised their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ovintiv from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $58.00 price objective on Ovintiv in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.17.

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.