Wall Street Zen Upgrades Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) to Buy

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $8.70 price objective on shares of Ecopetrol in a report on Monday, December 1st. Bradesco Corretora set a $12.00 target price on Ecopetrol and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ecopetrol from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecopetrol has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $10.35.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

NYSE:EC opened at $13.86 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $12.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $28.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.64. Ecopetrol has a twelve month low of $7.80 and a twelve month high of $14.07.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 253,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 21,180 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 301.3% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC now owns 19,494 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 1,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ping Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. now owns 41,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period.

About Ecopetrol

Ecopetrol SA (NYSE: EC) is Colombia’s state-controlled integrated oil and gas company and the country’s largest oil producer. The company’s operations span the upstream, midstream and downstream segments of the hydrocarbon value chain, including exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, refining of petroleum products, transportation and storage via pipeline networks, and the marketing and sale of fuels and petrochemical feedstocks. Ecopetrol serves domestic demand in Colombia and maintains a portfolio of international investments and partnerships across the Americas.

In upstream activities, Ecopetrol focuses on exploration and development of onshore and offshore fields to sustain and grow hydrocarbon production.