Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Receives $11.27 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.27.

Several brokerages recently commented on EC. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Ecopetrol from $10.30 to $11.90 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America cut Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Ecopetrol from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $11.00 to $8.50 in a research report on Monday, March 4th.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

NYSE EC opened at $11.18 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $11.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.81. Ecopetrol has a 1 year low of $9.92 and a 1 year high of $13.14.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The oil and gas company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.09). Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 8.82% and a net margin of 14.35%. The company had revenue of $7.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.19 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Ecopetrol will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ecopetrol

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 58,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 9,878 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in Ecopetrol by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 50,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Ecopetrol in the 3rd quarter worth $131,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ecopetrol by 369.3% in the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 277,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,217,000 after acquiring an additional 218,600 shares during the period. Finally, Toroso Investments LLC lifted its position in Ecopetrol by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 80,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 4,160 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.