Engineers Gate Manager LP Sells 187,178 Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. $EC

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP cut its Ecopetrol stake by 80% in the second quarter, selling 187,178 shares and retaining 46,838 shares valued at approximately $667,000.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: seven analysts rate the stock Hold and one rates it Sell, resulting in a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $13.54.
• Ecopetrol shares opened at $16.82, with a market capitalization of $34.58 billion and a 12-month trading range of $8.57 to $18.38. The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.86 on $11.72 billion in revenue.

Engineers Gate Manager LP trimmed its holdings in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Free Report) by 80.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,838 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 187,178 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP's holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $667,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EC. Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new position in Ecopetrol in the 2nd quarter valued at $58,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 34.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,890 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter worth $131,000. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the 1st quarter worth $150,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the second quarter worth $168,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ecopetrol from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $13.54.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

Ecopetrol stock opened at $16.82 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $34.58 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.44. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 12-month low of $8.57 and a 12-month high of $18.38. The business's 50-day moving average price is $16.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.34.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $11.72 billion for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 11.46% and a return on equity of 18.16%. As a group, analysts expect that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Ecopetrol

Ecopetrol SA is an integrated energy company based in Colombia and one of the country's principal producers of oil and natural gas. Its activities include exploration and production of hydrocarbons, crude oil and fuel transportation, refining, petrochemicals, and the distribution and marketing of petroleum products and natural gas.

The company operates through a broad energy infrastructure network that includes pipelines, storage facilities, refineries, ports, and other midstream assets.

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