Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires New Position in Ecopetrol S.A. $EC

Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 31,108 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $466,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 221.4% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,898 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the third quarter worth $40,000. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth $88,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol during the second quarter valued at $93,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Ecopetrol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ecopetrol from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Ecopetrol from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $13.14.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

NYSE EC opened at $16.75 on Friday. Ecopetrol S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $8.27 and a fifty-two week high of $17.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $15.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.06. The firm has a market cap of $34.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 8.84%. On average, analysts anticipate that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecopetrol 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.