Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Stock Has Average Price Target of $13.54

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) has been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.54.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 26th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ecopetrol from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Ecopetrol from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ecopetrol from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th.

Ecopetrol Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of EC stock opened at $16.59 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.56. Ecopetrol has a 52 week low of $8.57 and a 52 week high of $18.38. The company has a market cap of $34.10 billion, a PE ratio of 8.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EC. Barometer Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Ecopetrol by 2,694.9% during the 1st quarter. Barometer Capital Management Inc. now owns 109,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 105,100 shares in the last quarter. Wealth High Governance Asset Management Ltda. acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,057,000. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,417,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,948,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the first quarter worth approximately $6,542,000.

Ecopetrol Company Profile

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.