StockNews.com Upgrades Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) to Buy

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ecopetrol from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $7.50 to $9.50 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.00.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 3.5 %

Ecopetrol stock opened at $9.93 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.24 and a 200 day moving average of $8.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 1.22. Ecopetrol has a 12-month low of $7.21 and a 12-month high of $12.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ecopetrol by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,147,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $24,931,000 after buying an additional 96,909 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $13,760,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Ecopetrol by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 968,440 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,670,000 after buying an additional 105,637 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Ecopetrol by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 887,424 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,924,000 after buying an additional 13,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 850,753 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,738,000 after acquiring an additional 158,585 shares during the last quarter.

About Ecopetrol

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.