Insider Selling: Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) Director Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) Director Howard John Mayson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.39, for a total transaction of $261,950.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 45,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,398,414.20. This represents a 9.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Ovintiv Trading Up 1.8%

Ovintiv stock traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $52.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,384,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,000,049. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Ovintiv Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.80 and a 12 month high of $53.21. The stock has a market cap of $14.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 12.00% and a net margin of 13.94%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ovintiv Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Ovintiv

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Ovintiv by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in Ovintiv by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Ovintiv by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 9,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ovintiv by 2.3% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Ovintiv by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. 83.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on OVV. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Ovintiv in a report on Thursday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Ovintiv in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.88.

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.