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

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,230,000 shares, an increase of 7.0% from the October 15th total of 13,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,180,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.5 days. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 0.9% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,291,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $145,537,000 after purchasing an additional 105,172 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the first quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 1.2% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 510,803 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,048,000 after purchasing an additional 5,844 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the first quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 during the period.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of EC stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $8.02. 1,289,225 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,116,083. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.48. Ecopetrol has a one year low of $7.21 and a one year high of $13.14. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.21.

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.