Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Sets New 12-Month Low - Here's What Happened

Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $8.12 and last traded at $8.15, with a volume of 901894 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Ecopetrol from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $8.50 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $8.83.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 1.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.71.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.15). Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 6.64% and a net margin of 13.92%. The firm had revenue of $8.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.49 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Glenorchy Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 16.5% in the third quarter. Glenorchy Capital Ltd now owns 53,583 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 7,584 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Ecopetrol by 135.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,352 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 3,655 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 42.8% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109,263 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 32,766 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in Ecopetrol by 2.7% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 46,864 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Straight Path Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Straight Path Wealth Management now owns 14,600 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period.

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.