Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Short Interest Up 10.8% in March

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,030,000 shares, an increase of 10.8% from the March 15th total of 8,150,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,990,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:EC opened at $11.70 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.28. Ecopetrol has a 12-month low of $8.59 and a 12-month high of $13.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.7999 per share. This represents a yield of 19.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 25th. Ecopetrol’s payout ratio is 91.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Ecopetrol from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley cut Ecopetrol from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $8.50 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Ecopetrol from $12.00 to $10.30 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the first quarter worth $182,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter worth $475,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 65,197 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 21,700 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 59.2% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 18,515 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter worth $486,000.

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.