Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Receives $9.17 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $10.38.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upgraded Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $9.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecopetrol from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $7.50 to $9.50 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Ecopetrol by 81.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 425,116 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,796,000 after acquiring an additional 190,293 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $790,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $179,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 61.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 56,783 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 21,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Ecopetrol in the third quarter worth $1,061,000.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

NYSE EC opened at $10.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.77. Ecopetrol has a fifty-two week low of $7.21 and a fifty-two week high of $12.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

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.