Zacks Research Upgrades Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) to “Strong-Buy”

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ecopetrol from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. HSBC raised Ecopetrol to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 22nd. Finally, Bradesco Corretora set a $12.00 price target on shares of Ecopetrol and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.35.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE EC traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $14.28. 872,231 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,414,693. Ecopetrol has a 12-month low of $7.80 and a 12-month high of $15.62. The firm has a market cap of $29.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 7.64% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The business had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Ecopetrol will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the second quarter worth $25,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ecopetrol by 301.3% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Ecopetrol by 221.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,898 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Ecopetrol during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter valued at about $88,000.

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.