Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV)

Investment analysts at Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) in a research note issued on Friday. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 9.52% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on OVV. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Ovintiv in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Ovintiv in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ovintiv currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.11.

Ovintiv Stock Performance

NYSE:OVV opened at $62.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $49.59 and its 200 day moving average is $42.91. Ovintiv has a fifty-two week low of $29.80 and a fifty-two week high of $62.60. 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 (NYSE:OVV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.39 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ovintiv will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ovintiv

In other Ovintiv news, EVP Meghan Nicole Eilers sold 11,582 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $2,963,159.76. The trade was a 17.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Howard John Mayson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ovintiv

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Ovintiv by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in Ovintiv by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 9,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ovintiv by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Ovintiv by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

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.