BUZZ-William Blair initiates coverage on Ovintiv with 'outperform' rating

** William Blair initiates coverage on oil and natgas producer Ovintiv OVV.N with "outperform" rating

** Ovintiv's contiguous Montney position, sizable high‑return Permian inventory and likely Mid‑Continent asset sale together create a compelling re‑rating setup - brokerage

** OVV's recent NuVista acquisition adds core liquids inventory with potential for incremental synergies, says brokerage

** "Ovintiv could be sold to a large Canadian operator" - William Blair

** 18 of 23 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, four "hold" and one "sell"; median PT is $55 - data compiled by LSEG

** Including session's moves, shares down 3.3% YTD

(Reporting by Dharna Bafna in Bengaluru)

((dharna.bafna@thomsonreuters.com))