Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $17.46 and last traded at $17.5310, with a volume of 124750 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $16.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ecopetrol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ecopetrol from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.14.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 0.7%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.43 and a 200 day moving average of $12.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 8.84%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecopetrol Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th were given a dividend of $0.6612 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a yield of 481.0%. Ecopetrol’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ecopetrol by 301.3% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ecopetrol by 221.4% during the fourth 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 period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Ecopetrol during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter worth $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.