Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $8.70 target price on shares of Ecopetrol in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Bradesco Corretora set a $12.00 price target on Ecopetrol and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ecopetrol from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, HSBC raised Ecopetrol to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.35.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

Shares of Ecopetrol stock opened at $14.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $29.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $12.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.70. Ecopetrol has a fifty-two week low of $7.80 and a fifty-two week high of $15.37.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its position in Ecopetrol by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 21,180 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Ecopetrol by 301.3% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ping Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Ecopetrol by 5.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter.

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.