Fisher Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC – Get Rating) by 49.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 849,386 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 816,210 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $8,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Ecopetrol by 0.5% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 198,961 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Ecopetrol by 11.1% during the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 10,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Credit Suisse AG raised its stake in Ecopetrol by 10.8% during the second quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 11,308 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the first quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its stake in Ecopetrol by 8.7% during the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 34,415 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 2,750 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.30% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EC shares. UBS Group downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. HSBC downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $12.50 to $12.00 in a research note on Friday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ecopetrol from $12.40 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 15th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Ecopetrol in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.00.
Ecopetrol Trading Down 8.3 %
Shares of Ecopetrol stock opened at $9.82 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.42. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 12-month low of $8.59 and a 12-month high of $17.60. The stock has a market cap of $20.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.
Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $8.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.31 billion. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 21.09% and a return on equity of 15.85%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Ecopetrol Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 20th will be paid a $0.1479 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 19th. This represents a yield of 20.4%. Ecopetrol’s payout ratio is 37.73%.
Ecopetrol Profile
Ecopetrol SA engages in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Exploration and Production, Transportation and Logistics, and Refining and Petrochemicals. The Exploration and Production segment deals with oil and gas exploration and production activities.