Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $14.61, but opened at $15.90. Ecopetrol shares last traded at $16.2310, with a volume of 1,646,826 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Ecopetrol to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Bradesco Corretora set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Ecopetrol and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ecopetrol from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.57.

Ecopetrol Stock Up 9.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.27. The stock has a market cap of $33.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.46.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 12.39%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Ecopetrol Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th were issued a $0.6612 dividend. This represents a yield of 481.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 29th. Ecopetrol’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 301.3% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 221.4% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,898 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 2,685 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 34.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,890 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter.

Ecopetrol Company 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.