Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Ecopetrol a consensus rating of “Hold” (1 sell, 3 hold, 1 strong buy) with an average 1‑year target of $10.35, and several firms recently changed ratings (e.g., Bradesco cut to underperform while Zacks and Wall Street Zen upgraded).
• Shares opened at $13.90 (52‑week range $7.80–$15.62) with a market cap of $28.57B and a P/E of 11.68; the company reported Q quarter EPS of $0.20 on $7.64B revenue and will pay an annual dividend of $0.6612 per share (ex‑dividend Apr 29, payable May 7).

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the five research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $10.35.

EC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bradesco Corretora set a $12.00 target price on Ecopetrol and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Ecopetrol from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. HSBC upgraded shares of Ecopetrol to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 1.9%

EC opened at $13.90 on Friday. Ecopetrol has a fifty-two week low of $7.80 and a fifty-two week high of $15.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $13.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.47.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 7.64% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The company had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts expect that Ecopetrol will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecopetrol Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $0.6612 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a yield of 481.0%. Ecopetrol's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecopetrol

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Ecopetrol in the 4th quarter valued at $991,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 212,904 shares in the last quarter. Fundamenta Capital S.A. purchased a new position in Ecopetrol in the 4th quarter valued at $20,135,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 69,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 69,080 shares in 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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