Citigroup Downgrades Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) to Hold

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) was downgraded by analysts at Citigroup from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Sunday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Ovintiv in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $49.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.67.

Ovintiv Trading Down 2.2%

OVV opened at $60.69 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.69. Ovintiv has a 12 month low of $29.80 and a 12 month high of $62.60.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.41. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 12.00% and a net margin of 13.94%.The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.23) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ovintiv will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Howard John Mayson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.39, for a total value of $261,950.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 45,780 shares in the company, valued at $2,398,414.20. The trade was a 9.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ovintiv

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OVV. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Ovintiv by 203.3% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 2,917 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Ovintiv by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 42,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,660,000 after buying an additional 5,669 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Ovintiv by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 242,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,479,000 after buying an additional 65,445 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in Ovintiv by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 295,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,589,000 after buying an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,268,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,726,000 after acquiring an additional 150,053 shares during the period. 83.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ovintiv Company Profile

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.