Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on EC. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Citigroup cut shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $18.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ecopetrol from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $13.14.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

Shares of EC opened at $16.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.55. Ecopetrol has a one year low of $8.45 and a one year high of $17.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $15.69 and its 200-day moving average is $14.18.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 8.84% and a return on equity of 12.38%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ecopetrol will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecopetrol

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EC. Ramsey Quantitative Systems purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $58,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the second quarter worth $168,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 8.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 35,037 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 2,699 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 15.1% during the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 15,465 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 2,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda acquired a new position in Ecopetrol during the first quarter valued at $2,417,000.

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.