Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $15.34

Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.34.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EC. Zacks Research raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.70 target price on shares of Ecopetrol in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ecopetrol from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Focused Alpha LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the 3rd quarter valued at about $334,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 343,173 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 33,883 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in Ecopetrol by 171.8% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 86,645 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 54,767 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Ecopetrol by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 36,835 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ecopetrol by 10.4% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,347 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares in the last quarter.

Ecopetrol Stock Up 4.7%

Shares of EC stock opened at $17.81 on Friday. Ecopetrol has a twelve month low of $9.10 and a twelve month high of $18.38. The stock has a market cap of $36.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $17.23 and a 200 day moving average of $15.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 14.50% and a net margin of 11.46%. The business had revenue of $11.72 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecopetrol will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Ecopetrol Company Profile

Ecopetrol SA is a Colombia-based integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, production, transportation, refining and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and refined petroleum products. Its operations also include petrochemicals, biofuels and related energy services.

The company operates across Colombia’s oil and gas value chain, including upstream exploration and production, pipeline transportation, storage, refining and fuel distribution. Through its corporate group and strategic investments, Ecopetrol also has activities in international markets, including the United States, Brazil and Peru.

Founded in 1951 and headquartered in Bogotá, Ecopetrol is majority-owned by the Colombian government and is one of the country’s largest energy companies.