Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $14.71, but opened at $13.50. Ecopetrol shares last traded at $13.9850, with a volume of 1,220,199 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 22nd. HSBC raised Ecopetrol to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Ecopetrol from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Bradesco Corretora set a $12.00 target price on Ecopetrol and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecopetrol currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $10.35.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $28.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 7.64%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Ecopetrol Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.6612 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 436.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. Ecopetrol’s payout ratio is currently 126.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 253,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 21,180 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 301.3% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928 shares during the period. St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC now owns 19,494 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,986 shares during the period. Finally, Ping Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. now owns 41,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period.

About Ecopetrol

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.