Jump Financial LLC Buys 80,860 Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Free Report) by 548.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,602 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 80,860 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $1,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 14.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 21,795 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 2,769 shares during the last quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecopetrol by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 18,949 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 2,982 shares during the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC boosted its stake in Ecopetrol by 5.4% during the third quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 80,994 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 4,160 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in Ecopetrol by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 26,876 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 5,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth $85,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Morgan Stanley downgraded Ecopetrol from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $11.00 to $8.50 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Ecopetrol from $10.30 to $11.90 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.27.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

NYSE EC traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $12.13. 1,543,787 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,467,957. The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 52-week low of $8.93 and a 52-week high of $13.14.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 14.77%. The company had revenue of $8.59 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts predict that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 25th will be given a dividend of $0.7999 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 25th. This represents a dividend yield of 19.5%. Ecopetrol's dividend payout ratio is currently 92.44%.

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.