Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $40.39, but opened at $39.07. Ovintiv shares last traded at $39.24, with a volume of 158,497 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OVV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Ovintiv from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ovintiv from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Siebert Williams Shank raised Ovintiv to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Ovintiv from $60.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Ovintiv from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.00.

Ovintiv Trading Down 3.1 %

The company has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.56, a P/E/G ratio of 7.81 and a beta of 2.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $41.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.61.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 18.56%. On average, analysts predict that Ovintiv Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. Ovintiv's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ovintiv

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OVV. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Ovintiv by 41.7% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,529 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 2,214 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in Ovintiv by 1.5% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 79,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in Ovintiv in the first quarter valued at about $932,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Ovintiv in the first quarter valued at about $1,273,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Ovintiv by 17.9% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 25,770 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,337,000 after acquiring an additional 3,911 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.81% of the company's stock.

About Ovintiv

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.