Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.3158.

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. National Bank Financial upped their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ovintiv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Meghan Nicole Eilers sold 11,582 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.78, for a total value of $634,461.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 54,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,963,159.76. This represents a 17.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Howard John Mayson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.39, for a total transaction of $261,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 45,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,398,414.20. This represents a 9.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ovintiv

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 52.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,233,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,203,000 after acquiring an additional 424,125 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Ovintiv in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,107,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 124,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,409,000 after acquiring an additional 10,500 shares during the period. Bull Harbor Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ovintiv during the first quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council lifted its stake in Ovintiv by 357.3% during the first quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 47,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,796,000 after purchasing an additional 36,800 shares during the last quarter. 83.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ovintiv Price Performance

NYSE OVV opened at $58.75 on Monday. Ovintiv has a 52 week low of $34.99 and a 52 week high of $63.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $57.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.85.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.15. Ovintiv had a net margin of 8.51% and a return on equity of 13.14%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.38 billion. Analysts forecast that Ovintiv will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.71%.

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.