Zacks Research Upgrades Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) to Hold

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on OVV. William Blair assumed coverage on Ovintiv in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Ovintiv to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.88.

Ovintiv Stock Up 1.0%

OVV traded up $0.54 on Tuesday, hitting $52.26. The company had a trading volume of 3,343,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,967,297. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.09. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $14.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69. Ovintiv has a 52-week low of $29.80 and a 52-week high of $53.21.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last announced 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. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 12.00% and a net margin of 13.94%.The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ovintiv will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Gregory Dean Givens sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $2,016,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 105,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,269,616.11. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ovintiv

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