Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $11.27.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Ecopetrol from $10.30 to $11.90 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America lowered shares of Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Ecopetrol from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $8.50 in a research report on Monday, March 4th.

Institutional Trading of Ecopetrol

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EC. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,652,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ecopetrol by 369.3% in the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 277,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,217,000 after buying an additional 218,600 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP grew its position in Ecopetrol by 136.6% in the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 334,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,988,000 after acquiring an additional 193,150 shares during the period. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. acquired a new position in Ecopetrol during the first quarter worth $1,302,000. Finally, GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,291,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $145,537,000 after purchasing an additional 105,172 shares in the last quarter.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

Shares of EC stock opened at $11.19 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $11.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Ecopetrol has a 12 month low of $9.92 and a 12 month high of $13.14.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The oil and gas company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $7.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.19 billion. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 8.82% and a net margin of 14.35%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecopetrol will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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.