Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $13.40 and traded as high as $15.42. Ecopetrol shares last traded at $15.3780, with a volume of 2,895,121 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Ecopetrol from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. UBS Group increased their target price on Ecopetrol from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Citigroup cut Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $13.14.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $32.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.41.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 8.84% and a return on equity of 12.38%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 301.3% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Ramsey Quantitative Systems purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the second quarter valued at $58,000.

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.