Zacks Research Downgrades Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) to Hold

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on EC. HSBC raised shares of Ecopetrol to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Citigroup lowered shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. 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 upgraded Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Ecopetrol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $13.14.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

Shares of EC opened at $15.51 on Monday. Ecopetrol has a 1 year low of $8.27 and a 1 year high of $17.75. The company has a market cap of $31.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.51 and a 200-day moving average of $12.97.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 8.84% and a return on equity of 12.38%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ecopetrol will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ecopetrol

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,417,000. Wealth High Governance Asset Management Ltda. bought a new stake in Ecopetrol during the first quarter worth approximately $2,057,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP bought a new stake in Ecopetrol during the first quarter worth approximately $839,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Ecopetrol by 41.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 64,897 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 18,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the first quarter worth approximately $3,583,000.

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.