Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Shares Sold by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP lowered its position in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) by 67.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,300 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 31,000 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP’s holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of EC. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter valued at $13,760,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,019,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 63.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 696,412 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,516,000 after buying an additional 271,296 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,060,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 172.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 370,555 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,935,000 after buying an additional 234,459 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $9.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ecopetrol from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $7.50 to $9.50 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 3.6%

NYSE EC opened at $9.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.82. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 52-week low of $7.21 and a 52-week high of $12.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a dividend of $0.5202 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a yield of 34.2%. Ecopetrol’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.96%.

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.