Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC – Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on EC. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ecopetrol from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.54.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Ecopetrol

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

Ecopetrol stock opened at $16.99 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $34.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46. Ecopetrol has a one year low of $8.57 and a one year high of $18.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $17.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.59.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 11.46% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The firm had revenue of $11.72 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecopetrol will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EC. Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the 2nd quarter valued at $58,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 34.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,890 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $131,000. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ecopetrol during the first quarter worth approximately $150,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the 2nd quarter valued at $168,000.

Ecopetrol Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Ecopetrol SA is an integrated energy company headquartered in Bogotá, Colombia, and one of the country’s principal petroleum and natural gas producers. Its operations include the exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas, as well as the gathering, processing and commercialization of hydrocarbons.

The company also operates through businesses involved in crude oil and refined-product transportation, refining, petrochemicals and fuel distribution. Its refining activities include the Barrancabermeja refinery and the Cartagena refinery, while its transportation operations are conducted primarily through subsidiaries and affiliated infrastructure businesses.

Founded in 1951 as Empresa Colombiana de Petróleos, Ecopetrol has expanded beyond Colombia through international exploration and production activities and investments in energy infrastructure.

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Analyst Recommendations for Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC)

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