Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $56.71.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on Ovintiv from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ovintiv

In other news, EVP Renee Ellen Zemljak sold 76,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.96, for a total transaction of $3,886,413.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,206,325.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Renee Ellen Zemljak sold 76,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.96, for a total value of $3,886,413.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,206,325.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rachel Maureen Moore sold 9,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.65, for a total value of $471,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,662,012.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 91,564 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,818. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ovintiv

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OVV. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ovintiv by 10.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 528,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,157,000 after acquiring an additional 51,261 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Ovintiv by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 761,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,215,000 after purchasing an additional 101,978 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ovintiv by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,029,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,285,816,000 after purchasing an additional 2,484,554 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Ovintiv by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,124,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,500,000 after purchasing an additional 27,381 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank bought a new position in Ovintiv in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $18,097,000. 83.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ovintiv Price Performance

OVV stock opened at $51.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 2.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $51.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ovintiv has a 12-month low of $32.07 and a 12-month high of $55.95.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 19.16%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ovintiv will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Ovintiv’s payout ratio is currently 15.21%.

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.