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

Shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $52.8824.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price target on shares of Ovintiv in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens raised Ovintiv to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Ovintiv from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th.

Ovintiv Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE OVV opened at $52.93 on Wednesday. Ovintiv has a 12 month low of $29.80 and a 12 month high of $54.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $15.00 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $44.85 and its 200 day moving average is $41.49.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.41. Ovintiv had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 12.00%. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ovintiv will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio is 24.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Gregory Dean Givens sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $2,016,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 105,867 shares in the company, valued at $4,269,616.11. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Howard John Mayson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.39, for a total transaction of $261,950.00. Following the sale, the director owned 45,780 shares in the company, valued at $2,398,414.20. This represents a 9.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Ovintiv by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 42,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,660,000 after acquiring an additional 5,669 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Ovintiv by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 242,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,479,000 after purchasing an additional 65,445 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 295,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,589,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $49,726,000 after purchasing an additional 150,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 40,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,385 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

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.