Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.14.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on EC shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup cut shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ecopetrol from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. HSBC raised shares of Ecopetrol to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter valued at $991,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Ecopetrol by 141.9% during the 3rd quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 362,904 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,342,000 after acquiring an additional 212,904 shares during the period. Fundamenta Capital S.A. bought a new stake in Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter valued at $20,135,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Ecopetrol during the 3rd quarter valued at $398,000. Finally, Barometer Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ecopetrol by 77.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barometer Capital Management Inc. now owns 77,200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 33,800 shares during the period.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:EC opened at $14.72 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $14.57 and its 200 day moving average is $13.07. Ecopetrol has a 12 month low of $8.27 and a 12 month high of $17.75.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 8.84% and a return on equity of 12.38%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecopetrol will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecopetrol Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th were issued a dividend of $0.6612 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a yield of 481.0%. Ecopetrol’s payout ratio is presently 50.78%.

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.