Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

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 $11.06 and traded as high as $15.23. Ecopetrol shares last traded at $14.8950, with a volume of 1,948,918 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EC. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ecopetrol from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 22nd. HSBC upgraded Ecopetrol to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Bradesco Corretora set a $12.00 target price on Ecopetrol and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $10.35.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 1.6%

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 company has a market capitalization of $30.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.19 and a 200 day moving average of $11.06.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 7.64%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Ecopetrol Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $0.6612 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 436.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. Ecopetrol’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.46%.

Institutional Trading of Ecopetrol

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fundamenta Capital S.A. purchased a new stake in Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter worth $20,135,000. Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 833.7% in the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 341,880 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,149,000 after buying an additional 305,266 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 109.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 466,266 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,294,000 after buying an additional 244,106 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 141.9% in the third quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 362,904 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,342,000 after buying an additional 212,904 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the third quarter valued at $1,751,000.

Ecopetrol Company Profile

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.