The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) Price Target to $9.50

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) had its price target cut by The Goldman Sachs Group from $11.00 to $9.50 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

EC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com cut Ecopetrol from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Reduce and a consensus price target of $8.83.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

NYSE:EC opened at $9.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $18.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.20. Ecopetrol has a 52 week low of $8.65 and a 52 week high of $13.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.03.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EC. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109,263 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 32,766 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Ecopetrol by 2.7% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 46,864 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 1,219 shares in the last quarter. Straight Path Wealth Management grew its position in Ecopetrol by 7.4% in the second quarter. Straight Path Wealth Management now owns 14,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in Ecopetrol during the second quarter worth about $1,192,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 39.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 23,520 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 6,629 shares during the last quarter.

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.