Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Sells 108,655 Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) by 91.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,049 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 108,655 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $80,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of EC. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in Ecopetrol by 317.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,638 shares during the period. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Ecopetrol in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,480 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 2,128 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,978 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 1,271 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecopetrol from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $7.50 to $9.50 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup raised Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $9.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecopetrol has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.00.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

Shares of EC stock opened at $8.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $17.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $9.18 and its 200 day moving average is $8.79. Ecopetrol S.A. has a twelve month low of $7.21 and a twelve month high of $12.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a $0.5202 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a yield of 34.2%. Ecopetrol’s payout ratio is 72.25%.

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.