Ecopetrol S.A. $EC Shares Sold by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) by 93.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,742 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 414,106 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Straight Path Wealth Management purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the third quarter worth $92,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the second quarter worth $93,000. Carrera Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the third quarter worth $126,000. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 21.8% in the third quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 13,968 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE EC opened at $14.12 on Tuesday. Ecopetrol S.A. has a one year low of $7.80 and a one year high of $14.29. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $12.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on EC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $8.70 price objective on shares of Ecopetrol in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Bradesco Corretora set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Ecopetrol and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Ecopetrol to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.35.

Ecopetrol 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.