Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC – Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 30,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,000.
Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EC. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Ecopetrol by 27.5% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 14,371 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 3,099 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Ecopetrol by 7.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 43,798 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $815,000 after buying an additional 3,081 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Ecopetrol by 98.0% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,776,889 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $51,650,000 after buying an additional 1,374,075 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the first quarter worth $2,311,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Ecopetrol by 5.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,777,900 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $51,669,000 after buying an additional 134,703 shares during the period. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC lowered Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $12.50 to $12.00 in a research report on Friday, February 10th. UBS Group lowered Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Ecopetrol from $12.40 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 15th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Ecopetrol in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.00.
Ecopetrol Price Performance
Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $8.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.31 billion. Ecopetrol had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 19.92%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.
Ecopetrol Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.1479 per share. This represents a yield of 20.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 19th. Ecopetrol’s payout ratio is currently 53.23%.
Ecopetrol Profile
Ecopetrol SA engages in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Exploration and Production, Transportation and Logistics, and Refining and Petrochemicals. The Exploration and Production segment deals with oil and gas exploration and production activities.
Read More
- Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Ecopetrol (EC)
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