Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) Price Target Raised to $69.00 at UBS Group

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by UBS Group from $62.00 to $69.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ovintiv from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ovintiv from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ovintiv from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. National Bankshares lowered their target price on Ovintiv from $69.00 to $53.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on Ovintiv from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ovintiv presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $55.69.

Ovintiv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OVV traded down $0.66 on Thursday, hitting $54.86. The company had a trading volume of 2,718,178 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,182,159. The business has a 50 day moving average of $48.73 and a 200 day moving average of $46.19. Ovintiv has a 52-week low of $32.07 and a 52-week high of $55.95. The company has a market cap of $14.75 billion, a PE ratio of 6.95 and a beta of 2.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 19.16%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ovintiv will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Ovintiv's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ovintiv news, EVP Renee Ellen Zemljak sold 76,264 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.96, for a total transaction of $3,886,413.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,206,325.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Rachel Maureen Moore sold 9,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.65, for a total value of $471,045.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,662,012.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Renee Ellen Zemljak sold 76,264 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 23,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,325.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 91,564 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,818 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ovintiv

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in Ovintiv by 151.3% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 583 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ovintiv during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in shares of Ovintiv by 107.6% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 658 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Ovintiv during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ovintiv by 62.5% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 931 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.81% of the company's stock.

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.