Brokerages Set Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Target Price at $9.17

Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $10.38.

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

Ecopetrol Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE EC opened at $10.39 on Tuesday. Ecopetrol has a 1-year low of $7.21 and a 1-year high of $12.90. The company has a market capitalization of $21.35 billion, a price-to-earnings 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. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecopetrol

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EC. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 135.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,352 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 3,655 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 3rd quarter valued at about $228,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 1.6% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 887,424 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,924,000 after acquiring an additional 13,707 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the third quarter worth approximately $188,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 190,293 shares during the last quarter.

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.