Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Shares Up 4.9% – Here’s What Happened

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) rose 4.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $7.74 and last traded at $7.72. 2,678,026 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 29% from the average daily volume of 2,075,821 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Ecopetrol from $8.50 to $7.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.50.

Ecopetrol Stock Up 5.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $15.89 billion, a PE ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $8.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.49 billion. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 9.42% and a net margin of 13.92%. Analysts forecast that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 0.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 105,172 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in Ecopetrol by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 887,424 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,924,000 after buying an additional 13,707 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in Ecopetrol by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 510,803 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,048,000 after buying an additional 5,844 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Ecopetrol by 81.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 425,116 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,796,000 after buying an additional 190,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Ecopetrol by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 272,126 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,045,000 after buying an additional 15,467 shares in the last quarter.

Ecopetrol Company Profile

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.