161,246 Shares in Ecopetrol S.A. $EC Acquired by Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda

Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 161,246 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,417,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EC. Ping Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. now owns 41,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 119,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 34.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,890 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in Ecopetrol by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 13,676 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,685 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on EC. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ecopetrol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. UBS Group lifted 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $13.14.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 0.1%

EC opened at $16.75 on Monday. Ecopetrol S.A. has a one year low of $8.27 and a one year high of $17.75. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $34.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.08.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last announced 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 return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 8.84%. Analysts anticipate that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

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.