Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on EC. Bank of America lowered Ecopetrol from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Ecopetrol from $10.30 to $11.90 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $11.27.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EC opened at $10.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.55 billion, a PE ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $11.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.57. Ecopetrol has a fifty-two week low of $9.95 and a fifty-two week high of $13.14.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last announced 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). Ecopetrol had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 8.82%. The company had revenue of $7.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.19 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ecopetrol will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the second quarter worth $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Ecopetrol by 258.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Ecopetrol by 58.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,402 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecopetrol during the first quarter valued at about $125,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecopetrol during the first quarter valued at about $141,000.

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.