Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $9.85.

Several research firms have weighed in on EC. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Ecopetrol to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.40 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 15th.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) opened at 6.09 on Thursday. Ecopetrol has a one year low of $5.16 and a one year high of $19.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion and a P/E ratio of 5.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $6.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.77.

Other hedge funds and institutional investors have made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group boosted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 32.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 5,670 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Asset Management Company boosted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 43.9% in the fourth quarter. Capstone Asset Management Company now owns 53,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,000 after buying an additional 16,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Acadian Asset Management now owns 476,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,343,000 after buying an additional 79,095 shares in the last quarter.

Ecopetrol S.A. is an oil company. The Company’s business segments include Exploration and Production; Transportation and Logistics, and Refining, Petrochemicals, and Biofuels. The Exploration and Production business segment includes exploration, development and production activities in Colombia and abroad. It conducts exploration and production activities through some of its subsidiaries and through joint ventures with third parties. The transportation and logistics segment includes the transportation of crude oil, motor fuels, fuel oil and other refined products, including diesel and biofuels. It conducts these activities through its wholly owned subsidiary Cenit and Cenit’s subsidiaries. Its key refineries are the Barrancabermeja refinery, which it directly owns and operates, and a refinery in the Free Trade Zone in Cartagena that is operated by Reficar S.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of it. It has presence in Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Angola and the United States Gulf Coast.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:EC

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