Ecopetrol Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:EC)

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 24,709 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,585% compared to the average volume of 1,466 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Ecopetrol in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 301.3% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 221.4% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,898 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter valued at $88,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Bradesco Corretora set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Ecopetrol and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $8.70 target price on shares of Ecopetrol in a report on Monday, December 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecopetrol currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $10.35.

Ecopetrol Stock Up 1.6%

Ecopetrol stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $12.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,076,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,211,595. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.53. Ecopetrol has a 12 month low of $7.80 and a 12 month high of $13.27. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.04. The company has a market capitalization of $26.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.66 and a beta of 0.63.

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.