Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Receives $11.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the six brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $11.00.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Ecopetrol from $12.00 to $10.30 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Ecopetrol from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Ecopetrol from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $11.00 to $8.50 in a research report on Monday, March 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,161,233 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $73,403,000 after purchasing an additional 2,239,289 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ecopetrol by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,086,272 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $35,739,000 after purchasing an additional 29,731 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 215.8% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,381,687 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $24,936,000 after buying an additional 1,627,411 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Ecopetrol by 85.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,518,254 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $17,581,000 after buying an additional 701,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter valued at $15,652,000.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EC traded down $0.26 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.84. 3,925,201 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,038,407. The business's 50-day moving average price is $11.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.88. Ecopetrol has a twelve month low of $8.59 and a twelve month high of $13.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.7999 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 19.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 25th. Ecopetrol's dividend payout ratio is currently 105.58%.

Ecopetrol Company 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.