Ecopetrol S.A. $EC Shares Sold by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC lessened its stake in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) by 93.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,742 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 414,106 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EC. Oaktree Capital Management LP grew its stake in Ecopetrol by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 3,549,822 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,416,000 after buying an additional 387,700 shares during the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. lifted its stake in Ecopetrol by 529.6% in the second quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 165,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after buying an additional 139,381 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 73.9% in the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 300,866 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,663,000 after acquiring an additional 127,856 shares during the period. Truffle Hound Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 83.3% during the second quarter. Truffle Hound Capital LLC now owns 550,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,868,000 after acquiring an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leuthold Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the second quarter worth approximately $231,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. HSBC upgraded shares of Ecopetrol to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Bradesco Corretora set a $12.00 price target on Ecopetrol and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $8.70 price objective on shares of Ecopetrol in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.35.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

Ecopetrol stock opened at $14.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.64. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 52 week low of $7.80 and a 52 week high of $14.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Ecopetrol 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.