Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.06 EPS

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The oil and gas company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $10.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.45 billion. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 11.46% and a return on equity of 14.50%.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:EC traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $15.35. 1,595,062 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,804,940. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $16.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.23. Ecopetrol has a 1 year low of $9.20 and a 1 year high of $18.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on EC shares. Wall Street Zen raised Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $17.70 price objective on shares of Ecopetrol in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ecopetrol from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $9.00 to $19.00 in a report on Thursday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.95.

Ecopetrol Company Profile

Ecopetrol S.A. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Bogotá, Colombia. Founded in 1951, it is majority-owned by the Colombian government and is one of the country’s major producers of oil and natural gas. The company explores for and produces hydrocarbons, transports them through pipeline networks, and refines crude oil into products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Its operations also include petrochemicals and natural gas activities, with refining facilities in Colombia. Ecopetrol’s business is centered in Colombia, with additional oil and gas activities in other countries.