Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) Upgraded at Truist Financial

Truist Financial upgraded shares of Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on OVV. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of Ovintiv in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Ovintiv from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Ovintiv in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Ovintiv from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.89.

Ovintiv Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE OVV opened at $60.11 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $48.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. Ovintiv has a 52-week low of $29.80 and a 52-week high of $60.15. The company has a market capitalization of $17.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.69.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.23) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ovintiv will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Ovintiv’s payout ratio is 24.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Meghan Nicole Eilers sold 11,582 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.78, for a total transaction of $634,461.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 54,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,963,159.76. This represents a 17.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Howard John Mayson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.39, for a total value of $261,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ovintiv

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OVV. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Ovintiv by 70.9% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 3,788 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ovintiv during the 1st quarter valued at $202,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Ovintiv by 49.3% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $825,000 after purchasing an additional 6,364 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ovintiv by 47.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in Ovintiv by 174.6% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.