Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $17.46 and last traded at $17.5310, with a volume of 124750 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup cut Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ecopetrol from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecopetrol has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.14.

Ecopetrol Trading Down 4.6%

The company has a market cap of $31.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.46. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $14.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.97.

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

Ecopetrol Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th were given a $0.6612 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 481.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 29th. Ecopetrol’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EC. Fundamenta Capital S.A. bought a new position in Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth about $20,135,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,542,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 833.7% in the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 341,880 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,149,000 after buying an additional 305,266 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 109.9% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 466,266 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,294,000 after acquiring an additional 244,106 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,583,000.

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.