Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $11.17 and last traded at $11.1550, with a volume of 635447 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on EC shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $8.70 price target on shares of Ecopetrol in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ecopetrol in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecopetrol presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.73.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $21.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $9.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.29.

Institutional Trading of Ecopetrol

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Candriam S.C.A. acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the second quarter worth $7,443,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter worth $3,997,000. Oaktree Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 3,549,822 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,416,000 after buying an additional 387,700 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in Ecopetrol by 833.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 341,880 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,149,000 after buying an additional 305,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Ecopetrol in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,525,000.

About Ecopetrol

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.