Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $7.86 and last traded at $7.89, with a volume of 276995 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $12.00 to $8.50 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $8.83.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 2.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $16.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $8.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.49 billion. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 9.42% and a net margin of 13.92%. As a group, research analysts predict that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in Ecopetrol in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Ecopetrol by 258.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,945 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Ecopetrol by 58.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,402 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 2,355 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the first quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the 1st quarter valued at $141,000.

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.