Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Short Interest Up 9.1% in January

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,720,000 shares, a growth of 9.1% from the January 15th total of 14,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.0 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on EC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $7.50 to $9.50 in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.17.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

EC stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $10.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,596,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,814,962. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 1.20. Ecopetrol has a one year low of $7.21 and a one year high of $12.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.77.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Ecopetrol by 135.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,352 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 3,655 shares in the last quarter. Glenorchy Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Glenorchy Capital Ltd now owns 53,583 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 7,584 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $228,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 887,424 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,924,000 after purchasing an additional 13,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $188,000.

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.