Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Decreases Position in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Free Report) by 90.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 28,721 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 265,828 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,978 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 17,575 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 66,664 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,480 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 2,128 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 16,975 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 2,197 shares during the period.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EC traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $8.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,255,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,440,433. 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 company has a market cap of $17.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.82. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 1 year low of $7.21 and a 1 year high of $12.67. The business's 50 day moving average price is $8.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.83.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

EC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup raised Ecopetrol from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $9.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecopetrol from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $7.50 to $9.50 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.