Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on EC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ecopetrol from $8.50 to $7.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.50.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 3.8 %

NYSE:EC traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $7.36. The company had a trading volume of 3,408,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,468,188. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Ecopetrol has a 12-month low of $7.33 and a 12-month high of $13.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.34.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $8.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.49 billion. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 13.92% and a return on equity of 9.42%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecopetrol will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Ecopetrol by 18.6% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 31,872 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 4,996 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in Ecopetrol by 66.6% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 74,194 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $878,000 after acquiring an additional 29,651 shares during the last quarter. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol during the first quarter worth approximately $1,302,000. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $145,537,000 after purchasing an additional 105,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Ecopetrol during the 1st quarter valued at $125,000.

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.