Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $12.50 and traded as high as $15.50. Ecopetrol shares last traded at $15.3380, with a volume of 1,223,821 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ecopetrol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ecopetrol from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research raised Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup cut Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Ecopetrol to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.14.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.46.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last announced 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 8.70% and a return on equity of 12.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecopetrol Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th were paid a dividend of $0.6612 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a yield of 481.0%. Ecopetrol’s payout ratio is currently 54.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 301.3% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 221.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,898 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter valued at about $88,000.

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.