Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Position Raised by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Free Report) by 41.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,826 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,715 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp's holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter valued at about $790,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ecopetrol by 63.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter worth about $2,060,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Ecopetrol by 22.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Ecopetrol by 3.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 lifted their price target for the company from $9.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecopetrol from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $7.50 to $9.50 in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

Shares of EC traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $8.67. 1,544,051 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,429,921. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 12 month low of $7.21 and a 12 month high of $12.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.82. The business's 50-day moving average price is $8.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.68.

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 issued 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 90.96%.

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.