Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $16.75 and last traded at $16.6410, with a volume of 674562 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Citigroup cut shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $14.00 to $18.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. 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 issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecopetrol presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.14.

Ecopetrol Stock Up 4.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $34.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95, a PEG ratio of 0.72 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $14.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.53.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last released its quarterly 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 8.70% and a return on equity of 12.39%. Equities analysts expect that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecopetrol Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Ecopetrol

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EC. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $93,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $333,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $324,000. AXA S.A. purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $271,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Ecopetrol by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,190,268 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,534,000 after buying an additional 102,505 shares during 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.