Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV)

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 2,696 call options on the company. This is an increase of 42% compared to the average daily volume of 1,900 call options.

Ovintiv Trading Down 0.4 %

OVV stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 120,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,087,560. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Ovintiv has a 52 week low of $36.90 and a 52 week high of $55.95. The stock has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a PE ratio of 5.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.84 and a beta of 2.61.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.02. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 18.56%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ovintiv will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio is 16.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on OVV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $60.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Citigroup cut their target price on Ovintiv from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Ovintiv from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $62.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $61.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ovintiv during the third quarter worth $432,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Ovintiv by 5,704.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 85,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,260,000 after buying an additional 83,621 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Ovintiv by 1.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 196,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,529,000 after acquiring an additional 2,275 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Ovintiv by 120.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 33,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

Ovintiv Company Profile

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.