Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) Stock Price Down 4.2% – Should You Sell?

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) shares were down 4.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $63.94 and last traded at $64.1610. 268,863 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 4,016,154 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on OVV shares. Texas Capital upgraded Ovintiv to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Roth Capital boosted their price objective on Ovintiv from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. National Bank Financial upped their price objective on Ovintiv from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on Ovintiv in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $92.00 target price on Ovintiv and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ovintiv has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.75.

Ovintiv Trading Up 0.5%

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $62.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81 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 (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ovintiv Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.90%.

Insider Activity at Ovintiv

In related news, EVP Rachel Moore sold 7,753 shares of Ovintiv stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.32, for a total value of $490,919.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 72,530 shares in the company, valued at $4,592,599.60. The trade was a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ovintiv

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OVV. Man Group plc acquired a new position in Ovintiv during the 2nd quarter valued at about $936,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 worth $7,373,000 after acquiring an additional 142,800 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ovintiv in the fourth quarter worth about $5,045,000. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in Ovintiv in the second quarter worth about $4,738,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ovintiv during the second quarter worth about $9,481,000. 83.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ovintiv

Ovintiv Inc is an independent North American energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, development, production and acquisition of oil, condensate, natural gas liquids and natural gas. Its portfolio is focused on unconventional, or shale, resource plays, with operations designed to produce a mix of higher-value liquids and natural gas.

The company’s principal assets are located in the United States and Canada. Its U.S. operations include positions in the Permian Basin of west Texas and New Mexico, the Uinta Basin of Utah and the Anadarko Basin of Oklahoma, while its Canadian operations include properties in Alberta’s Montney and Duvernay formations.