50,176 Shares in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Acquired by Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC

Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 50,176 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $397,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter valued at $86,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Ecopetrol by 33.5% during 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. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth about $94,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. bought a new position in Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter worth about $790,000. Finally, Ping Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. now owns 60,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $475,000 after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ecopetrol from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $7.50 to $9.50 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup upgraded 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, Wall Street Zen cut Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.00.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

NYSE EC traded down $0.26 on Friday, hitting $8.46. The stock had a trading volume of 2,150,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,434,235. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company's 50-day moving average is $8.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.86. The stock has a market cap of $17.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.82. Ecopetrol S.A. has a one year low of $7.21 and a one year high of $12.67.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a dividend of $0.5202 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 34.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. Ecopetrol's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.