HSBC Upgrades Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) to Hold

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) was upgraded by stock analysts at HSBC to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on EC. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings raised Ecopetrol from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Bradesco Corretora set a $12.00 target price on shares of Ecopetrol and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $8.70 target price on shares of Ecopetrol in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.35.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 0.7%

EC stock opened at $13.86 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $28.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $12.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.42. Ecopetrol has a 12 month low of $7.80 and a 12 month high of $14.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the second quarter worth $93,000. Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,443,000. Truffle Hound Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 83.3% during the 2nd quarter. Truffle Hound Capital LLC now owns 550,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,868,000 after acquiring an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 73.9% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 300,866 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,663,000 after acquiring an additional 127,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 448,060 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,965,000 after acquiring an additional 81,312 shares during the last quarter.

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.