Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Trading Down 5.6% – Time to Sell?

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)’s share price fell 5.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $15.58 and last traded at $15.6580. 1,576,607 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 3,261,006 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on EC. UBS Group raised their price target on Ecopetrol from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. HSBC raised shares of Ecopetrol to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One research 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.14.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $14.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.76.

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, equities analysts anticipate that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecopetrol Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecopetrol during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ecopetrol by 301.3% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ecopetrol by 221.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,898 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,685 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Ecopetrol during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,000.

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.