MQS Management LLC Takes Position in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,562 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $125,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 66.6% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 74,194 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 29,651 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 548.5% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 95,602 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 80,860 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $356,000.

Ecopetrol Stock Up 0.8 %

Ecopetrol stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $10.68. The company had a trading volume of 1,540,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,992,276. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.63. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 12 month low of $10.29 and a 12 month high of $13.14. The company has a market capitalization of $21.96 billion, a PE ratio of 4.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.23.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The oil and gas company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.09). Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 8.82% and a net margin of 14.35%. The business had revenue of $7.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.19 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EC shares. Bank of America lowered Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Ecopetrol from $10.30 to $11.90 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.27.

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.