Graham Capital Management L.P. Purchases New Stake in Ecopetrol S.A. $EC

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired 204,353 shares of Ecopetrol S.A. valued at approximately $2,133,000, marking a new position in the company as reported in their recent 13F filing.
• Various institutional investors, including Blume Capital Management and Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio, have also established new stakes in Ecopetrol, indicating growing interest in the company.
• Zacks Research upgraded Ecopetrol's rating from "strong sell" to "hold," with the stock currently holding an average rating of "hold" and a price target of $11.00.

Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 204,353 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $2,133,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EC. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,019,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Ecopetrol by 46.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,017,544 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $10,623,000 after acquiring an additional 321,132 shares during the last quarter. Truffle Hound Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ecopetrol during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,132,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ecopetrol by 1,639.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 272,620 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $26,113,000 after acquiring an additional 256,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,441,000.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Ecopetrol stock traded up $0.03 on Friday, reaching $9.07. 1,459,353 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,845,181. Ecopetrol S.A. has a one year low of $7.21 and a one year high of $11.05. The company has a market capitalization of $18.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $8.88 and a 200 day moving average of $9.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Zacks Research raised Ecopetrol from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.00.

About Ecopetrol

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.