Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell 22.4% in March to 10,899,909 shares (about 0.5% of shares sold short), leaving a days-to-cover ratio of 2.8.
• The company declared an annual dividend of $0.6612 per share payable May 7 (ex-dividend April 29), with a reported yield of 436.0% and a payout ratio of 86.55%.
• Analysts have an average rating of "Reduce" with a consensus price target of $10.35; EC trades near $13.52 with a PE of 11.36 and a market cap of about $27.8 billion.

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,899,909 shares, a decrease of 22.4% from the March 15th total of 14,042,822 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,856,350 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecopetrol during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Ecopetrol by 301.3% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Ecopetrol by 221.4% during the fourth 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 acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter worth about $88,000.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

EC stock opened at $13.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.27. Ecopetrol has a 12-month low of $7.80 and a 12-month high of $15.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $27.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Ecopetrol Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a yield of 436.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. Ecopetrol's payout ratio is 86.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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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