Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ecopetrol from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.54.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 1.5%

EC opened at $16.99 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.09 and its 200-day moving average is $15.59. Ecopetrol has a 52-week low of $8.57 and a 52-week high of $18.38.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $11.72 billion during the quarter. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 11.46% and a return on equity of 18.16%. Equities analysts expect that Ecopetrol will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its position in Ecopetrol by 15.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,027 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 34.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,890 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 8.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 35,037 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,699 shares during the last quarter. Ramsey Quantitative Systems bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 12.0% during the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 45,011 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $641,000 after acquiring an additional 4,835 shares during the period.

About Ecopetrol

Ecopetrol SA is an integrated energy company headquartered in Bogotá, Colombia, and one of the country’s principal petroleum and natural gas producers. Its operations include the exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas, as well as the gathering, processing and commercialization of hydrocarbons.

The company also operates through businesses involved in crude oil and refined-product transportation, refining, petrochemicals and fuel distribution. Its refining activities include the Barrancabermeja refinery and the Cartagena refinery, while its transportation operations are conducted primarily through subsidiaries and affiliated infrastructure businesses.

Founded in 1951 as Empresa Colombiana de Petróleos, Ecopetrol has expanded beyond Colombia through international exploration and production activities and investments in energy infrastructure.