Brokerages Set Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) Target Price at $56.71

Shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.71.

Several brokerages have weighed in on OVV. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Ovintiv in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ovintiv from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ovintiv from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Barclays assumed coverage on Ovintiv in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Ovintiv from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th.

Insider Activity at Ovintiv

In related news, Director Howard John Mayson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.56, for a total transaction of $303,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,840 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,630.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Renee Ellen Zemljak sold 76,264 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.96, for a total value of $3,886,413.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,206,325.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Howard John Mayson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.56, for a total value of $303,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,840 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,630.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 91,564 shares of company stock worth $4,660,818 over the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ovintiv during the first quarter valued at $932,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 1.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,005,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,201,000 after purchasing an additional 17,206 shares in the last quarter. LifePro Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Ovintiv during the first quarter valued at $3,781,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Ovintiv by 1.0% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 233,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,118,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Ovintiv by 11.0% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 101,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,267,000 after acquiring an additional 10,095 shares during the period. 83.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ovintiv Stock Performance

Shares of OVV stock opened at $51.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 2.65. Ovintiv has a 52 week low of $32.07 and a 52 week high of $55.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.30 and a 200-day moving average of $46.68.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.41. Ovintiv had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 19.50%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ovintiv will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.21%.

About Ovintiv

Ovintiv Inc, together with its subsidiaries, explores, develops, produces, and markets natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids in the United States and Canada. The company operates through USA Operations, Canadian Operations, and Market Optimization segments. Its principal assets include Permian in west Texas and Anadarko in west-central Oklahoma; and Montney in northeast British Columbia and northwest Alberta.