Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on EC. HSBC raised Ecopetrol to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Ecopetrol from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $8.70 price target on shares of Ecopetrol in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Bradesco Corretora set a $12.00 price target on Ecopetrol and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $10.35.

Ecopetrol Stock Up 1.0%

EC stock opened at $14.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $12.59 and a 200-day moving average of $10.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.55. Ecopetrol has a one year low of $7.80 and a one year high of $15.37.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Oaktree Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 12.3% during the second quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 3,549,822 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,416,000 after purchasing an additional 387,700 shares during the last quarter. Fundamenta Capital S.A. acquired a new position in Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter valued at $20,135,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ecopetrol by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,407,890 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $14,107,000 after buying an additional 41,075 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Ecopetrol by 9.4% in 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. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ecopetrol by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 935,639 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,375,000 after buying an additional 64,614 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.