American Century Companies Inc. Buys 15,467 Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 272,126 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,467 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $3,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EC. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 0.9% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,291,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $145,537,000 after buying an additional 105,172 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 4th quarter worth about $15,652,000. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 510,803 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,048,000 after acquiring an additional 5,844 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP grew its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 136.6% during the 4th quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 334,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,988,000 after acquiring an additional 193,150 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 74.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 208,230 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,465,000 after buying an additional 88,710 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ecopetrol Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of EC opened at $9.03 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $9.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 1-year low of $8.65 and a 1-year high of $13.14.

About Ecopetrol

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.