Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.5667.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ecopetrol in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Bradesco Corretora set a $12.00 target price on Ecopetrol and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ecopetrol from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC upgraded Ecopetrol to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Ecopetrol in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in Ecopetrol by 301.3% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ecopetrol by 221.4% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,898 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 2,685 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,000.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

Ecopetrol stock opened at $14.89 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $14.08 and its 200 day moving average is $12.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $30.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.46. Ecopetrol has a one year low of $8.27 and a one year high of $15.62.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 8.70%. As a group, research analysts expect that Ecopetrol will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Ecopetrol Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th were issued a $0.6612 dividend. This represents a yield of 481.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 29th. Ecopetrol’s payout ratio is presently 54.62%.

Ecopetrol Company Profile

Ecopetrol SA (NYSE: EC) is Colombia’s state-controlled integrated oil and gas company and the country’s largest oil producer. The company’s operations span the upstream, midstream and downstream segments of the hydrocarbon value chain, including exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, refining of petroleum products, transportation and storage via pipeline networks, and the marketing and sale of fuels and petrochemical feedstocks. Ecopetrol serves domestic demand in Colombia and maintains a portfolio of international investments and partnerships across the Americas.

In upstream activities, Ecopetrol focuses on exploration and development of onshore and offshore fields to sustain and grow hydrocarbon production.