Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) Downgraded by Citigroup to “Hold”

Citigroup cut shares of Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Sunday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on OVV. Barclays boosted their price target on Ovintiv from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $49.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ovintiv currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.67.

Ovintiv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OVV opened at $60.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.04. Ovintiv has a fifty-two week low of $29.80 and a fifty-two week high of $62.60.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 12.00% and a net margin of 13.94%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.23) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ovintiv will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ovintiv news, Director Howard John Mayson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.39, for a total value of $261,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 45,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,398,414.20. This trade represents a 9.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Meghan Nicole Eilers sold 11,582 shares of Ovintiv 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 54,092 shares in the company, valued at $2,963,159.76. The trade was a 17.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.89% 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Ovintiv by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,059,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,418,000 after buying an additional 1,669,469 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 203,256 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Ovintiv by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,743,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,281,000 after acquiring an additional 855,043 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 116.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,692,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,101,000 after acquiring an additional 3,060,691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 650,000 shares during the period. 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.