Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) Stock Price

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) had its target price hoisted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $55.00 to $70.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial began coverage on Ovintiv in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research raised Ovintiv from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Ovintiv in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ovintiv from $42.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Ovintiv from $49.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ovintiv presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.95.

Ovintiv Price Performance

OVV stock opened at $56.92 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $52.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.87. 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 cap of $16.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.59. Ovintiv has a 52-week low of $29.80 and a 52-week high of $62.60.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 12.00% and a net margin of 13.94%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ovintiv will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Ovintiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ovintiv

In other news, EVP Meghan Nicole Eilers sold 11,582 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.78, for a total transaction of $634,461.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 54,092 shares in the company, valued at $2,963,159.76. This trade represents a 17.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Howard John Mayson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.39, for a total value of $261,950.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 45,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,398,414.20. This represents a 9.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Ovintiv by 42.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 174,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,030,000 after purchasing an additional 51,562 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Ovintiv by 296.2% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 79,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,134,000 after purchasing an additional 59,069 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ovintiv during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,816,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ovintiv by 152.1% during the 3rd quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 140,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,670,000 after buying an additional 84,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Ovintiv by 412.9% during the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 36,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,485,000 after buying an additional 29,602 shares during the last quarter. 83.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.