Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda Acquires Shares of 161,246 Ecopetrol S.A. $EC

Key Points

• Wealth High Governance Capital purchased 161,246 Ecopetrol shares during the first quarter, valued at approximately $2.4 million. Several other institutional investors also initiated or increased positions in the company.
• Analysts remain cautious: JPMorgan and UBS raised their price targets but maintained neutral ratings, while other firms downgraded the stock. Ecopetrol has an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $13.14.
• Ecopetrol shares opened at $16.75, near their 12-month high of $17.75, with a market capitalization of about $34.4 billion. The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.50 and analysts expect full-year EPS of $2.05.

Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 161,246 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $2,417,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the second quarter worth about $93,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 2nd quarter valued at about $333,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the second quarter valued at approximately $324,000. AXA S.A. purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the second quarter worth approximately $271,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Ecopetrol by 9.4% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,190,268 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $10,534,000 after buying an additional 102,505 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EC has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ecopetrol from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ecopetrol from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Ecopetrol from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecopetrol currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $13.14.

Ecopetrol Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE EC opened at $16.75 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.09, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.44. Ecopetrol S.A. has a twelve month low of $8.27 and a twelve month high of $17.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.08.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 8.84%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecopetrol Profile

Ecopetrol SA NYSE: EC is Colombia's state-controlled integrated oil and gas company and the country's largest oil producer. The company's operations span the upstream, midstream and downstream segments of the hydrocarbon value chain, including exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, refining of petroleum products, transportation and storage via pipeline networks, and the marketing and sale of fuels and petrochemical feedstocks. Ecopetrol serves domestic demand in Colombia and maintains a portfolio of international investments and partnerships across the Americas.

In upstream activities, Ecopetrol focuses on exploration and development of onshore and offshore fields to sustain and grow hydrocarbon production.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source