Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Price Target Lowered to $7.50 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) had its price objective decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $8.50 to $7.50 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an underweight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on EC. StockNews.com downgraded Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.50.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

Shares of EC opened at $7.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.62 billion, a PE ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.21. Ecopetrol has a 52-week low of $7.59 and a 52-week high of $13.14. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $8.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $8.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.49 billion. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 13.92% and a return on equity of 9.42%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ecopetrol will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ecopetrol

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Straight Path Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 7.4% in the second quarter. Straight Path Wealth Management now owns 14,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in Ecopetrol by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 46,864 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 1,219 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 258.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,945 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 58.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,402 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 2,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000.

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.