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

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) shares gapped up prior to trading 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on OVV shares. Scotiabank raised shares of Ovintiv from an “outperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Roth Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ovintiv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Ovintiv from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.79.

Ovintiv Stock Performance

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

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. On average, analysts expect that Ovintiv Inc. will post 7.1 EPS for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.90%.

Institutional Trading of Ovintiv

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BCS Private Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ovintiv in the fourth quarter worth about $976,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 997,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,079,000 after buying an additional 76,846 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 317.3% during the 4th 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 period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ovintiv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,045,000. Finally, Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Ovintiv by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 600,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,514,000 after acquiring an additional 115,000 shares in the last quarter. 83.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ovintiv

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.