Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on EC. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Ecopetrol from $8.50 to $7.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecopetrol has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.50.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 2.7 %

NYSE EC opened at $8.11 on Tuesday. Ecopetrol has a 1-year low of $7.21 and a 1-year high of $13.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $8.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.03. The company has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.21.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EC. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 81.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 425,116 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,796,000 after buying an additional 190,293 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,890,000. Barings LLC acquired a new position in Ecopetrol in the 2nd quarter worth $1,830,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ecopetrol in the 2nd quarter worth $1,476,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Ecopetrol during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,061,000.

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.