Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) to Issue $0.09 Annual Dividend

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) declared an annual dividend on Wednesday, April 7th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 21st will be given a dividend of 0.0932 per share by the oil and gas company on Thursday, April 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 20th.

Ecopetrol has a payout ratio of 7.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Ecopetrol to earn $0.94 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.09 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 9.6%.

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Ecopetrol stock opened at $12.74 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 1.86. Ecopetrol has a 12-month low of $8.50 and a 12-month high of $14.47.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Smith Barney Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ecopetrol from $13.00 to $14.70 in a report on Friday, December 11th. Citigroup Inc. 3% Minimum Coupon Principal Protected Based Upon Russell increased their target price on shares of Ecopetrol from $13.00 to $14.70 in a research note on Friday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecopetrol from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 15th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Ecopetrol from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Ecopetrol currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.08.

Ecopetrol Company Profile

Ecopetrol SA operates as an integrated oil and gas company. The company operates through Exploration and Production; Transport and Logistics; and Refining, Petrochemical and Biofuels segments. It engages in the exploration, production, and sale of oil and gas. It also transports and distributes hydrocarbons and derivative products.

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