Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Rating Increased to Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $14.00 price target on the oil and gas company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $9.00.

EC has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ecopetrol from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $7.50 to $9.50 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.38.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Ecopetrol stock opened at $10.96 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Ecopetrol has a twelve month low of $7.21 and a twelve month high of $12.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $8.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.79. The firm has a market cap of $22.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 1.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter worth about $13,760,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth $3,019,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ecopetrol by 63.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 696,412 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,516,000 after acquiring an additional 271,296 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter worth about $2,060,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 172.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 370,555 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,935,000 after buying an additional 234,459 shares in the last quarter.

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.