Ecopetrol S.A. $EC Shares Bought by Barometer Capital Management Inc.

Barometer Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) by 2,694.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 105,100 shares during the period. Barometer Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $1,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EC. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 301.3% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecopetrol in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 221.4% in the fourth 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 purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $118,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ecopetrol from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup downgraded Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $13.14.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

NYSE EC opened at $16.54 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $33.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.45. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 1-year low of $8.27 and a 1-year high of $17.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $15.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.75.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.05 EPS 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.