Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) Given New $70.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) had its target price hoisted by UBS Group from $69.00 to $70.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

OVV has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ovintiv from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Ovintiv from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Ovintiv from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $57.12.

Ovintiv Price Performance

OVV traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,107,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,011,887. Ovintiv has a twelve month low of $32.08 and a twelve month high of $55.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.79. The company has a market capitalization of $13.20 billion, a PE ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 2.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 17.74% and a net margin of 18.12%. Equities research analysts predict that Ovintiv will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Ovintiv’s payout ratio is 16.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Renee Ellen Zemljak sold 76,264 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.96, for a total value of $3,886,413.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,325.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Steven W. Nance sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,450. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Renee Ellen Zemljak sold 76,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.96, for a total value of $3,886,413.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,206,325.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 103,564 shares of company stock worth $5,260,818. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ovintiv

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OVV. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank bought a new position in Ovintiv in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in Ovintiv by 107.6% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 658 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co bought a new stake in Ovintiv during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ovintiv in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

Ovintiv Company Profile

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.