Analysts Set Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Price Target at $13.14

Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the eight brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.54.

Several brokerages have commented on EC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ecopetrol from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup lowered Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $14.00 to $18.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE EC opened at $17.64 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Ecopetrol has a 12 month low of $8.57 and a 12 month high of $17.75. The company has a market cap of $36.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.44.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $11.72 billion for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 8.84%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecopetrol will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,685 shares in the last quarter. Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the second quarter worth approximately $58,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 34.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,890 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 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.