Ecopetrol S.A. Plans — Dividend of $0.80 (NYSE:EC)

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) announced a — dividend on Thursday, March 28th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 25th will be given a dividend of 0.7999 per share by the oil and gas company on Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a dividend yield of 19.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 25th.

Ecopetrol has raised its dividend payment by an average of 19.4% annually over the last three years. Ecopetrol has a dividend payout ratio of 160.2% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect Ecopetrol to earn $2.34 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $3.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 141.0%.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

Shares of Ecopetrol stock traded up $0.51 during trading on Thursday, hitting $11.84. The stock had a trading volume of 3,990,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,887,114. The business’s 50-day moving average is $11.48 and its 200 day moving average is $11.91. Ecopetrol has a 12 month low of $8.59 and a 12 month high of $13.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Ecopetrol by 204.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 16,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 11,135 shares in the last quarter. Credit Suisse AG lifted its stake in Ecopetrol by 34.0% in the 2nd quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 15,901 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 4,036 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter valued at about $144,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the 3rd quarter valued at about $128,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter valued at about $116,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Ecopetrol from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Ecopetrol from $12.00 to $10.30 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Ecopetrol from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $8.50 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecopetrol currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.00.

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.