QRG Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 25,513 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ecopetrol during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Ecopetrol by 258.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Ecopetrol by 58.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,402 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 1st quarter valued at $125,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecopetrol during the 1st quarter worth about $141,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Ecopetrol from $8.50 to $7.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.50.

Ecopetrol Trading Down 0.5 %

Ecopetrol stock opened at $7.47 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.21. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 52 week low of $7.26 and a 52 week high of $13.14.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.15). Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 9.42% and a net margin of 13.92%. The business had revenue of $8.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.49 billion. Analysts expect that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecopetrol 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.