The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Price Target to $11.00

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC – Get Rating) had its price target lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $12.40 to $11.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on EC. 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 report on Thursday, February 9th. HSBC downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a buy rating to a hold rating and dropped their price target for the company from $12.50 to $12.00 in a report on Friday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecopetrol presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $12.00.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

Shares of EC stock opened at $9.89 on Wednesday. Ecopetrol has a one year low of $8.59 and a one year high of $19.81. The company’s 50-day moving average is $11.07 and its 200 day moving average is $10.28. The company has a market capitalization of $20.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Ecopetrol Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 20th will be issued a $0.1479 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 20.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 19th. Ecopetrol’s payout ratio is 38.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecopetrol

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp bought a new stake in Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,605,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ecopetrol during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,000. Quantamental Technologies LLC raised its stake in Ecopetrol by 38.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantamental Technologies LLC now owns 19,329 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 5,354 shares during the period. Comerica Bank raised its stake in Ecopetrol by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 34,415 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 2,750 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Ecopetrol by 184.8% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,523 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 19,155 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Ecopetrol Company Profile

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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.