Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $13.17 and traded as high as $14.69. Ecopetrol shares last traded at $14.4410, with a volume of 2,988,055 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EC. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. HSBC upgraded Ecopetrol to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ecopetrol from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Ecopetrol from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $13.14.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 1.4%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $14.62 and its 200 day moving average is $13.17. 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 $29.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.45.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 8.84% and a return on equity of 12.38%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ecopetrol by 301.3% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,928 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Ecopetrol in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ecopetrol by 221.4% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,898 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 34.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,890 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter.

About Ecopetrol

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.