Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Truist Financial upgraded the stock to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $59.05 and last traded at $59.0050, with a volume of 438020 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.94.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ovintiv from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Scotiabank boosted their price target 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. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ovintiv from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Ovintiv in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Meghan Nicole Eilers sold 11,582 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was 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. This represents a 17.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Howard John Mayson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.39, for a total transaction of $261,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ovintiv

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,059,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,418,000 after buying an additional 1,669,469 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ovintiv by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,890,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,601,000 after buying an additional 203,256 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Ovintiv by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,743,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,281,000 after buying an additional 855,043 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Ovintiv by 116.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,692,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,101,000 after buying an additional 3,060,691 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Ovintiv by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 5,462,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,060,000 after acquiring an additional 650,000 shares in the last quarter. 83.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ovintiv Trading Up 1.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.63.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.41. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 12.00% and a net margin of 13.94%.The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ovintiv Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

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.