Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $18.20 and last traded at $18.30, with a volume of 401481 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EC shares. Zacks Research raised Ecopetrol from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on Ecopetrol from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Citigroup lowered Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ecopetrol in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $13.54.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $37.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.15.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $11.72 billion during the quarter. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 11.46%. As a group, analysts predict that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EC. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the first quarter valued at about $6,542,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,583,000. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,417,000. Wealth High Governance Asset Management Ltda. acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,057,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,948,000.

Ecopetrol Company Profile

Ecopetrol SA is an integrated energy company based in Colombia and one of the country’s principal producers of oil and natural gas. Its activities include exploration and production of hydrocarbons, crude oil and fuel transportation, refining, petrochemicals, and the distribution and marketing of petroleum products and natural gas.

The company operates through a broad energy infrastructure network that includes pipelines, storage facilities, refineries, ports, and other midstream assets.