Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Stock Price Down 4.1% on Analyst Downgrade

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Get Free Report) shares fell 4.1% on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an underweight rating. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $8.50 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $12.00. Ecopetrol traded as low as $8.92 and last traded at $8.94. 425,541 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,954,656 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.32.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on EC. Bank of America downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $8.83.

Institutional Trading of Ecopetrol

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EC. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in Ecopetrol by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109,263 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,223,000 after buying an additional 32,766 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 46,864 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219 shares in the last quarter. Straight Path Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 7.4% in the second quarter. Straight Path Wealth Management now owns 14,600 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the second quarter worth $1,192,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in Ecopetrol by 39.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 23,520 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 6,629 shares during the last quarter.

Ecopetrol Trading Down 6.1 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $9.98 and a 200-day moving average of $11.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $18.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.20.

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.