Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Purchases Shares of 56,000 Ecopetrol S.A. $EC

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP acquired a new position in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 56,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $839,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ecopetrol by 221.4% in 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 position in Ecopetrol in the third quarter worth $40,000. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter worth $88,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol during the second quarter worth $93,000.

Ecopetrol Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of EC opened at $16.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $34.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $15.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.06. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 52-week low of $8.27 and a 52-week high of $17.75.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup lowered shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $14.00 to $18.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ecopetrol from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ecopetrol from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $13.14.

Ecopetrol Company Profile

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.