X Square Capital LLC Invests $412,000 in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

X Square Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 52,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $412,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 317.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 3,638 shares during the period. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Ecopetrol by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,480 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 2,128 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,978 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,271 shares in the last quarter.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

NYSE:EC opened at $10.41 on Friday. Ecopetrol S.A. has a twelve month low of $7.21 and a twelve month high of $12.90. The company has a market cap of $21.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $9.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.78.

Ecopetrol Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.5202 per share. This is an increase from Ecopetrol’s previous — dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a yield of 30%. Ecopetrol’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on EC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ecopetrol from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $7.50 to $9.50 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecopetrol currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.00.

Ecopetrol Company Profile

Ecopetrol SA operates as an integrated energy company. The company operates through four segments: Exploration and Production; Transport and Logistics; Refining, Petrochemical and Biofuels; and Electric Power Transmission and Toll Roads Concessions. It engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas; transportation of crude oil, motor fuels, fuel oil, and other refined products, including diesel, jet, and biofuels; processing and refining crude oil; distribution of natural gas and LPG; sale of refined and petrochemical products; supplying of electric power transmission services; design, development, construction, operation, and maintenance of road and energy infrastructure projects; and supplying of information technology and telecommunications services.