Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Short Interest Update

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,230,000 shares, a growth of 7.0% from the October 15th total of 13,300,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,180,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.5 days. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Straight Path Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Straight Path Wealth Management now owns 14,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 46,864 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 1,219 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 258.6% during the 2nd 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 increased its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 58.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,402 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 2,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

EC stock traded down $0.14 on Tuesday, reaching $8.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,289,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,116,083. Ecopetrol has a 1 year low of $7.21 and a 1 year high of $13.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company’s fifty day moving average is $8.42 and its 200 day moving average is $10.16. The company has a market cap of $16.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Ecopetrol from $8.50 to $7.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.50.

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.