Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) saw a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,230,000 shares, an increase of 7.0% from the October 15th total of 13,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,180,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.5 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ecopetrol from $8.50 to $7.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EC. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,291,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $145,537,000 after purchasing an additional 105,172 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Ecopetrol by 1.6% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 887,424 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,924,000 after purchasing an additional 13,707 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 1.2% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 510,803 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,048,000 after acquiring an additional 5,844 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 81.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 425,116 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,796,000 after purchasing an additional 190,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 6.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 272,126 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,045,000 after acquiring an additional 15,467 shares during the period.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EC traded down $0.10 on Tuesday, reaching $8.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,197,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,115,672. The company has a market cap of $16.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.16. Ecopetrol has a 52-week low of $7.21 and a 52-week high of $13.14.

About Ecopetrol

Ecopetrol SA operates as an integrated energy company. The company operates through four segments: Exploration and Production; Transport and Logistics; Refining, Petrochemical and Biofuels; and Electric Power Transmission and Toll Roads Concessions. It engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas; transportation of crude oil, motor fuels, fuel oil, and other refined products, including diesel, jet, and biofuels; processing and refining crude oil; distribution of natural gas and LPG; sale of refined and petrochemical products; supplying of electric power transmission services; design, development, construction, operation, and maintenance of road and energy infrastructure projects; and supplying of information technology and telecommunications services.