Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Short Interest Update

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,380,000 shares, a drop of 6.8% from the October 15th total of 10,060,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,160,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Ecopetrol in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $12.50 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, September 13th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Ecopetrol in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $11.50 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ecopetrol in a report on Thursday, September 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $11.20 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ecopetrol from $12.50 to $13.90 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.35.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the first quarter worth $36,000. Straight Path Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 128.6% in the second quarter. Straight Path Wealth Management now owns 32,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 18,000 shares during the period. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the first quarter worth $1,263,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 135.0% in the first quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 158,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,675,000 after acquiring an additional 91,114 shares during the period. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ecopetrol during the first quarter worth $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Ecopetrol Stock Up 4.0 %

NYSE:EC traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $12.27. 3,674,162 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,035,422. Ecopetrol has a 12-month low of $8.59 and a 12-month high of $13.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $11.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.23 billion, a PE ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 1.39.

About Ecopetrol

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.