Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Trading Up 6.2% – Here’s What Happened

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)’s share price shot up 6.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $12.32 and last traded at $12.31. 1,272,539 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 3,224,245 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Ecopetrol Trading Up 6.8%

The company has a market capitalization of $25.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.53. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.23.

Institutional Trading of Ecopetrol

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EC. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 253,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its stake in Ecopetrol by 7.1% in the third quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 21,180 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ecopetrol by 301.3% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,928 shares during the period. St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 11.3% during the third quarter. St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC now owns 19,494 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 1,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ping Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. now owns 41,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period.

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.