BNP Paribas Financial Markets Increases Position in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Free Report) by 220.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 182,166 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 125,383 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $1,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter worth $790,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in 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 last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter worth $2,060,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Ecopetrol by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 850,753 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,738,000 after purchasing an additional 158,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ecopetrol by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,147,859 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $24,931,000 after purchasing an additional 96,909 shares during the last quarter.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

Shares of Ecopetrol stock traded up $0.14 on Friday, reaching $8.61. 1,255,638 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,443,953. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 1-year low of $7.21 and a 1-year high of $12.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $8.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.69 billion, a PE ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.82.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.5202 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a yield of 34.2%. Ecopetrol's payout ratio is currently 72.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on EC shares. Citigroup raised shares of Ecopetrol from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $9.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $7.50 to $9.50 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecopetrol has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.00.

Ecopetrol Company 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.