The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Price Target to $9.50

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $11.00 to $9.50 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 1.39% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America lowered Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Ecopetrol Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE EC traded up $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.37. 348,616 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,959,465. The firm has a market cap of $19.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.20. Ecopetrol has a 12-month low of $8.67 and a 12-month high of $13.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.07.

Institutional Trading of Ecopetrol

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Ecopetrol by 130.9% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 47,883 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 27,144 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth $356,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter valued at $15,652,000. Rathbones Group PLC purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth approximately $195,000. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter valued at $582,000.

Ecopetrol Company Profile

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.