44,341 Shares in Ecopetrol S.A. $EC Purchased by Compound Planning Inc.

Compound Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 44,341 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $665,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fundamenta Capital S.A. bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter worth about $20,135,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,407,890 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $14,107,000 after purchasing an additional 41,075 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 9.4% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,190,268 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,534,000 after purchasing an additional 102,505 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Ecopetrol by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 935,639 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,375,000 after purchasing an additional 64,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Militia Capital Partners LP raised its position in Ecopetrol by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP now owns 556,200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,922,000 after purchasing an additional 77,000 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered Ecopetrol from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ecopetrol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Ecopetrol from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $13.14.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE EC opened at $15.85 on Wednesday. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 12 month low of $8.27 and a 12 month high of $17.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $32.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.45.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 8.84%. Research analysts forecast that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

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.