Analysts Set Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) PT at $10.35

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the five analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.35.

EC has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Ecopetrol to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 22nd. Finally, Bradesco Corretora set a $12.00 target price on Ecopetrol and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter worth approximately $131,000. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 1,083.8% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 127,910 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after buying an additional 117,105 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 91.4% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 236,586 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after buying an additional 112,953 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter valued at $88,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 43.9% in the fourth quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 124,309 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after buying an additional 37,943 shares in the last quarter.

Ecopetrol Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:EC opened at $14.13 on Wednesday. Ecopetrol has a 12 month low of $7.80 and a 12 month high of $15.62. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $13.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $29.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 0.49.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 7.64% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The firm had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ecopetrol will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecopetrol Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.6612 per share. This represents a yield of 436.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. Ecopetrol’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.55%.

About Ecopetrol

Ecopetrol SA (NYSE: EC) is Colombia’s state-controlled integrated oil and gas company and the country’s largest oil producer. The company’s operations span the upstream, midstream and downstream segments of the hydrocarbon value chain, including exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, refining of petroleum products, transportation and storage via pipeline networks, and the marketing and sale of fuels and petrochemical feedstocks. Ecopetrol serves domestic demand in Colombia and maintains a portfolio of international investments and partnerships across the Americas.

In upstream activities, Ecopetrol focuses on exploration and development of onshore and offshore fields to sustain and grow hydrocarbon production.