Analysts Set Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) PT at $9.17

Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $10.38.

Several brokerages have recently commented on EC. Citigroup upgraded Ecopetrol from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ecopetrol from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $7.50 to $9.50 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 4.7 %

NYSE EC traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.43. 2,778,846 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,769,105. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company has a market cap of $21.43 billion, a PE ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 1.20. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $8.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.79. Ecopetrol has a 52 week low of $7.21 and a 52 week high of $12.90.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,147,859 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $24,931,000 after buying an additional 96,909 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter valued at about $13,760,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 968,440 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $7,670,000 after buying an additional 105,637 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 887,424 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $7,924,000 after buying an additional 13,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 850,753 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,738,000 after buying an additional 158,585 shares during the last quarter.

Ecopetrol Company Profile

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.