Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Shares gapped down: Ecopetrol opened at $13.50 after a $14.71 close and last traded around $13.99 on volume of about 1.22 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment is weak: four analysts rate the stock a Hold and one a Sell, with MarketBeat's consensus listed as "Reduce" and a $10.35 target price following recent downgrades and mixed upgrades.
• Dividend and fundamentals: the company declared an annual dividend of $0.6612 per share (ex-dividend Apr 29) with a reported dividend yield of 436.0% and a payout ratio of 126.89%; market cap is ~$28.9B and P/E is ~11.8.

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $14.71, but opened at $13.50. Ecopetrol shares last traded at $13.9850, with a volume of 1,220,199 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on EC. Wall Street Zen cut Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 22nd. HSBC upgraded Ecopetrol to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ecopetrol from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Bradesco Corretora set a $12.00 target price on Ecopetrol and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $10.35.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $28.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.11.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 7.64%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecopetrol Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $0.6612 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 436.0%. Ecopetrol's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $991,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its position in Ecopetrol by 141.9% in 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 buying an additional 212,904 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Ecopetrol by 247.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 97,912 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $902,000 after buying an additional 69,760 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Ecopetrol by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 448,060 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,965,000 after buying an additional 81,312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Ecopetrol by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 520,754 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,796,000 after buying an additional 69,080 shares during the last quarter.

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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