Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Reduce" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts assign Ecopetrol an average “Reduce” rating: Of eight analysts, one recommends selling and seven recommend holding. The average 12-month price target is $13.54.
• Ecopetrol reported solid quarterly results, with earnings of $0.86 per share and revenue of $11.72 billion. Analysts expect full-year earnings of approximately $1.85 per share.
• The stock opened at $16.51 and has traded between $8.57 and $18.38 over the past year, while several institutional investors recently increased their positions.

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Reduce" from the eight analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $13.54.

EC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ecopetrol from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded Ecopetrol from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Ecopetrol from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Ecopetrol from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EC opened at $16.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.44. The company's 50-day moving average is $17.03 and its 200 day moving average is $15.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.55. Ecopetrol has a fifty-two week low of $8.57 and a fifty-two week high of $18.38.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $11.72 billion during the quarter. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 11.46% and a return on equity of 18.16%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ecopetrol will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 15.1% in the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 15,465 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 2,027 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 34.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,890 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 8.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 35,037 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,699 shares in the last quarter. Ramsey Quantitative Systems bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the second quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 12.0% in the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 45,011 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 4,835 shares during the last quarter.

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.

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