must read Ovintiv Inc (C-OVV) - In the News
Globe says U.S. institutions unload Ovintiv shares
2020-02-24 07:00 ET - In the News
Shares issued 259,804,191
OVV Close 2020-02-24 C$ 19.13
The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that when EnCana announced a plan to move to the United States and rename itself Ovintiv, it knew many Canadian money managers would sell its stock. The Globe's David Milstead and Jeffrey Jones write that the long-term goal was to attract big U.S. investors instead. New regulatory filings show, however, that multiple U.S. institutional investors also sold off huge positions in EnCana stock in 2019's fourth quarter, even before the move to the United States became effective. It was the culmination of a year in which institutional investors soured on the company for its poor performance. The heavy selling pressure over the past several months, from both sides of the border, helps explain how Ovintiv shares hit a 52-week low on Tuesday -- which was also the lowest closing price since the creation of EnCana in 2002. Records show a dozen institutional investors sold off at least one million EnCana shares in the fourth quarter. Only four of the 12 were Canadian. While many firms were exiting, one made a huge bet: San Francisco-based Dodge & Cox began buying EnCana in the third quarter and owned 28.5 million shares at Dec. 31, nearly 11 per cent of the company.