Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) Earns “Buy” Rating from Mizuho

Mizuho reiterated their buy rating on shares of Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $58.00 price target on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on OVV. National Bankshares decreased their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $69.00 to $53.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ovintiv presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Ovintiv Price Performance

Shares of OVV opened at $55.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a PE ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 2.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.73 and its 200-day moving average is $45.92. Ovintiv has a fifty-two week low of $32.07 and a fifty-two week high of $55.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. Ovintiv had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 19.50%. Equities analysts forecast that Ovintiv will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Ovintiv’s payout ratio is currently 15.21%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Renee Ellen Zemljak sold 76,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,325.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Renee Ellen Zemljak sold 76,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,325.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Rachel Maureen Moore sold 9,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.65, for a total transaction of $471,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,662,012.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 91,564 shares of company stock worth $4,660,818. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Ovintiv by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 41,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 89,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,265,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 19,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $908,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

Ovintiv Company Profile

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.