Sunbelt Securities Inc. Grows Position in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 109,263 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,766 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $1,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Ecopetrol by 258.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,945 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Ecopetrol by 58.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,402 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 2,355 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the 1st quarter worth $125,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the first quarter valued at about $141,000.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EC opened at $8.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.01. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 12 month low of $8.65 and a 12 month high of $13.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $12.00 to $8.50 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $8.83.

Ecopetrol Company Profile

Ecopetrol SA operates as an integrated energy company. The company operates through four segments: Exploration and Production; Transport and Logistics; Refining, Petrochemical and Biofuels; and Electric Power Transmission and Toll Roads Concessions. It engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas; transportation of crude oil, motor fuels, fuel oil, and other refined products, including diesel, jet, and biofuels; processing and refining crude oil; distribution of natural gas and LPG; sale of refined and petrochemical products; supplying of electric power transmission services; design, development, construction, operation, and maintenance of road and energy infrastructure projects; and supplying of information technology and telecommunications services.