Two Sigma Securities LLC Buys Shares of 25,273 Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new position in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 25,273 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Ecopetrol by 18.8% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 39,301 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 6,222 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Ecopetrol by 232.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,673 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 10,965 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter valued at $123,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the 4th quarter worth $86,000. Finally, B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter worth $104,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on EC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecopetrol from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $7.50 to $9.50 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.00.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 2.7 %

NYSE EC opened at $8.08 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $9.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.79. The company has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 52 week low of $7.21 and a 52 week high of $12.67.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a $0.5202 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 34.2%. Ecopetrol’s payout ratio is currently 79.90%.

Ecopetrol Profile

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.