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

Shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $56.71.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price 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.

Insider Transactions at Ovintiv

In related news, EVP Renee Ellen Zemljak sold 76,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,206,325.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Ovintiv news, EVP Rachel Maureen Moore sold 9,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.65, for a total value of $471,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,662,012.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Renee Ellen Zemljak sold 76,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.96, for a total transaction of $3,886,413.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,206,325.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 91,564 shares of company stock worth $4,660,818. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ovintiv

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ovintiv by 10.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 528,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,157,000 after buying an additional 51,261 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in Ovintiv by 15.5% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 761,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,215,000 after buying an additional 101,978 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ovintiv by 10.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,029,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,285,816,000 after buying an additional 2,484,554 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Ovintiv by 2.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,124,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,500,000 after buying an additional 27,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in Ovintiv during the third quarter valued at about $18,097,000. 83.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ovintiv Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OVV opened at $51.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.80 billion, a PE ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 2.65. Ovintiv has a 12 month low of $32.07 and a 12 month high of $55.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.68.

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

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.