Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.14 EPS

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The oil and gas company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.14), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 12.39%.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE EC traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $13.10. 2,552,303 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,303,919. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.55. Ecopetrol has a twelve month low of $8.27 and a twelve month high of $15.62.

Ecopetrol Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th were issued a dividend of $0.6612 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 481.0%. Ecopetrol’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on EC. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. HSBC raised Ecopetrol to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Bradesco Corretora set a $12.00 price target on Ecopetrol and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ecopetrol from $10.00 to $13.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.40.

Institutional Trading of Ecopetrol

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $116,000.

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.