Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Free Report) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,147,859 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 96,909 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.15% of Ecopetrol worth $24,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EC. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 18.8% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 39,301 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 6,222 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ecopetrol by 232.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,673 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 10,965 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecopetrol in the 4th quarter worth about $123,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth approximately $104,000.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

NYSE EC traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.13. 1,500,032 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,350,162. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 1 year low of $7.21 and a 1 year high of $12.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.68. The business's 50 day moving average is $9.76 and its 200-day moving average is $8.79. The company has a market capitalization of $18.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.86.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a $0.5202 dividend. This represents a yield of 34.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. Ecopetrol's payout ratio is presently 79.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecopetrol from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $7.50 to $9.50 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup raised Ecopetrol from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.00.

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.