Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $8.12 and last traded at $8.15, with a volume of 901894 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EC has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com lowered Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $8.50 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.83.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $16.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $9.35 and its 200 day moving average is $10.74.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.15). Ecopetrol had a net margin of 13.92% and a return on equity of 6.64%. The business had revenue of $8.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.49 billion. Research analysts expect that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ecopetrol

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Ecopetrol by 258.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Ecopetrol by 58.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,402 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecopetrol in the 1st quarter worth about $125,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the 1st quarter worth about $141,000.

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.