Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 17,836 Shares of Ovintiv Inc. $OVV

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) by 248.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 25,010 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,836 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Ovintiv were worth $1,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Burney Co. raised its stake in Ovintiv by 690.5% during the 2nd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 67,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 58,604 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 11.0% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 241,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,192,000 after purchasing an additional 23,968 shares in the last quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ovintiv by 46.8% during the 2nd quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 8,987 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 303.9% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 25,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after buying an additional 19,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ovintiv during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,534,000. 83.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ovintiv in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised Ovintiv from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Ovintiv in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Roth Capital initiated coverage on Ovintiv in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ovintiv currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ovintiv news, COO Gregory Dean Givens sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $2,016,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 105,867 shares in the company, valued at $4,269,616.11. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ovintiv Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:OVV opened at $37.78 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.52, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.76. Ovintiv Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.80 and a 12 month high of $46.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $39.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.71.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 2.64%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ovintiv Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 131.87%.

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.