Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

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

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

Ecopetrol Price Performance

Shares of EC opened at $14.17 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.49. Ecopetrol has a fifty-two week low of $7.80 and a fifty-two week high of $15.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average is $13.51 and its 200-day moving average is $11.42.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in Ecopetrol by 301.3% during the fourth 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 during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,685 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Ecopetrol during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth approximately $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.