Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eight analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.54.

Several brokerages have issued reports on EC. Zacks Research downgraded Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ecopetrol in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ecopetrol from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 221.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,898 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter. Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ecopetrol by 34.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,890 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the period.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

EC opened at $17.20 on Friday. Ecopetrol has a 12-month low of $8.57 and a 12-month high of $18.19. The stock has a market cap of $35.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50 day moving average of $16.37 and a 200-day moving average of $14.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $11.72 billion during the quarter. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 11.46%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ecopetrol will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecopetrol Company Profile

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.