Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $12.50 and traded as high as $15.50. Ecopetrol shares last traded at $15.3380, with a volume of 1,223,821 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on EC shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. HSBC upgraded shares of Ecopetrol to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ecopetrol from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.14.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.46.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 12.39%. As a group, analysts expect that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecopetrol Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th were paid a dividend of $0.6612 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 481.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 29th. Ecopetrol’s payout ratio is currently 54.62%.

Institutional Trading of Ecopetrol

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 301.3% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 221.4% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,898 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,685 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Ecopetrol in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter worth approximately $88,000.

Ecopetrol Company Profile

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.