Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $8.95 and traded as high as $9.82. Ecopetrol shares last traded at $9.48, with a volume of 2,615,670 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 1.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $19.49 billion, a PE ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $8.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.95.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were given a $0.5202 dividend. This represents a yield of 34.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Ecopetrol’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,978 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in Ecopetrol by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 17,575 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 66,664 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 16,975 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 2,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 158,452 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,654,000 after buying an additional 2,231 shares during the last quarter.

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.