Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on EC. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Ecopetrol from $8.50 to $7.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.50.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of EC stock opened at $7.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Ecopetrol has a twelve month low of $7.26 and a twelve month high of $13.14. The company has a market capitalization of $15.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50 day moving average is $8.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.32.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.15). Ecopetrol had a net margin of 13.92% and a return on equity of 9.42%. The business had revenue of $8.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.49 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Ecopetrol will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Straight Path Wealth Management raised its holdings in Ecopetrol by 7.4% during the second quarter. Straight Path Wealth Management now owns 14,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Ecopetrol by 2.7% during 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. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 258.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,945 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 58.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,402 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 2,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the second quarter worth $27,000.

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.