Sanctuary Advisors LLC Takes Position in Ecopetrol S.A. $EC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 61,765 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $926,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecopetrol in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Ecopetrol by 301.3% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 221.4% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,898 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 2,685 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter valued at $88,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EC has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ecopetrol from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $13.14.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 1.8%

EC opened at $16.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.45. Ecopetrol S.A. has a one year low of $8.27 and a one year high of $17.75. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 8.84%. Equities research analysts expect that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.