Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ecopetrol from $8.50 to $7.50 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $8.50.

Ecopetrol Trading Down 1.5 %

Ecopetrol stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $7.98. The stock had a trading volume of 1,842,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,125,801. Ecopetrol has a twelve month low of $7.21 and a twelve month high of $13.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.41 billion, a PE ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $8.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.03.

Institutional Trading of Ecopetrol

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 81.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 425,116 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,796,000 after purchasing an additional 190,293 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,890,000. Barings LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,830,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,476,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the third quarter worth approximately $1,061,000.

About Ecopetrol

Ecopetrol SA operates as an integrated energy company. The company operates through four segments: Exploration and Production; Transport and Logistics; Refining, Petrochemical and Biofuels; and Electric Power Transmission and Toll Roads Concessions. It engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas; transportation of crude oil, motor fuels, fuel oil, and other refined products, including diesel, jet, and biofuels; processing and refining crude oil; distribution of natural gas and LPG; sale of refined and petrochemical products; supplying of electric power transmission services; design, development, construction, operation, and maintenance of road and energy infrastructure projects; and supplying of information technology and telecommunications services.