Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Given Consensus Rating of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Ecopetrol received a consensus “Reduce” rating from eight brokerages: two recommend selling and six advise holding. The average 12-month price target is $13.54.
• Recent analyst actions were broadly neutral, with Citigroup, JPMorgan, and UBS maintaining neutral or hold-equivalent ratings while raising their price targets to between $13 and $18.
• The stock opened at $17.20 and has traded between $8.57 and $18.19 over the past year. Ecopetrol reported quarterly revenue of $11.72 billion and earnings of $0.86 per share, with analysts forecasting $1.85 in full-year EPS.

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Reduce" from the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.54.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on EC shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Citigroup downgraded Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ecopetrol in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Ecopetrol from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

Shares of EC opened at $17.20 on Friday. Ecopetrol has a 12 month low of $8.57 and a 12 month high of $18.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC - Get Free Report) last released its 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 business had revenue of $11.72 billion during the quarter. Research analysts forecast that Ecopetrol will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecopetrol during the second quarter worth $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,685 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter worth about $88,000.

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.

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