Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Receives $11.27 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) have received an average rating of “Reduce” from the six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.27.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EC. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ecopetrol by 0.9% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,291,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $145,537,000 after buying an additional 105,172 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,086,272 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $35,739,000 after purchasing an additional 29,731 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,652,000. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in Ecopetrol by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 510,803 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,048,000 after purchasing an additional 5,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP lifted its stake in Ecopetrol by 136.6% in the 4th quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 334,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,988,000 after purchasing an additional 193,150 shares during the last quarter.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE EC opened at $11.19 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $11.87 and its 200-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 1-year low of $9.92 and a 1-year high of $13.14.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The oil and gas company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $7.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.19 billion. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 8.82% and a net margin of 14.35%. Analysts expect that Ecopetrol will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal 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.