Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wells Fargo & Company

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $67.00 target price on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Texas Capital raised shares of Ovintiv to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Roth Capital raised their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, National Bank Financial lifted their price objective on Ovintiv from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.95.

Ovintiv Price Performance

OVV opened at $66.87 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Ovintiv has a 52-week low of $35.47 and a 52-week high of $67.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.89 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.39.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 14.84% and a net margin of 9.43%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ovintiv will post 7.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ovintiv

In related news, EVP Rachel Maureen Moore sold 7,753 shares of Ovintiv stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.32, for a total transaction of $490,919.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 72,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,592,599.60. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ovintiv

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ovintiv by 3.5% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 205,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,843,000 after purchasing an additional 6,900 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Ovintiv in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,462,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 5,195.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,347,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $913,365,000 after buying an additional 17,020,269 shares during the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new position in Ovintiv during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $11,469,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ovintiv by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,000 after buying an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. 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.