Jump Financial LLC Purchases 31,733 Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Free Report) by 103.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,341 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 31,733 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EC. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. bought a new position in Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth $790,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 63.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 696,412 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,516,000 after purchasing an additional 271,296 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,060,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 850,753 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,738,000 after buying an additional 158,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter valued at about $179,000.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

EC traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $8.08. 3,546,835 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,388,160. Ecopetrol S.A. has a one year low of $7.21 and a one year high of $12.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a $0.5202 dividend. This represents a yield of 34.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. Ecopetrol's dividend payout ratio is 79.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on EC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecopetrol from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $7.50 to $9.50 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised Ecopetrol from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.00.

Ecopetrol Profile

Ecopetrol SA operates as an integrated energy company. The company operates through four segments: Exploration and Production; Transport and Logistics; Refining, Petrochemical and Biofuels; and Electric Power Transmission and Toll Roads Concessions. It engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas; transportation of crude oil, motor fuels, fuel oil, and other refined products, including diesel, jet, and biofuels; processing and refining crude oil; distribution of natural gas and LPG; sale of refined and petrochemical products; supplying of electric power transmission services; design, development, construction, operation, and maintenance of road and energy infrastructure projects; and supplying of information technology and telecommunications services.