Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Stock Has Average Price Target of $15.34

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.95.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EC shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ecopetrol from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $19.00 in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.70 price objective on shares of Ecopetrol in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EC. Barometer Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 2,694.9% in the 1st quarter. Barometer Capital Management Inc. now owns 109,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 105,100 shares during the last quarter. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the 1st quarter valued at $2,417,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,709,000. Wealth High Governance Asset Management Ltda. bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the 1st quarter worth $2,057,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter worth about $616,000.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 0.4%

EC opened at $17.21 on Friday. Ecopetrol has a fifty-two week low of $9.10 and a fifty-two week high of $18.38. The company has a market capitalization of $35.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $17.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.07.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $11.72 billion for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 11.46% and a return on equity of 14.50%. On average, analysts anticipate that Ecopetrol will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Ecopetrol Company Profile

Ecopetrol SA is a Colombia-based integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, production, transportation, refining and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and refined petroleum products. Its operations also include petrochemicals, biofuels and related energy services.

The company operates across Colombia’s oil and gas value chain, including upstream exploration and production, pipeline transportation, storage, refining and fuel distribution. Through its corporate group and strategic investments, Ecopetrol also has activities in international markets, including the United States, Brazil and Peru.

Founded in 1951 and headquartered in Bogotá, Ecopetrol is majority-owned by the Colombian government and is one of the country’s largest energy companies.