Ping Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

Ping Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares during the quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EC. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 135.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,352 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 3,655 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter valued at about $86,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter valued at about $94,000. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter worth approximately $104,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ecopetrol in the 4th quarter worth approximately $123,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ecopetrol from $8.50 to $7.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.50.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE EC opened at $9.84 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $8.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.81. The company has a market capitalization of $20.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.20. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 12 month low of $7.21 and a 12 month high of $12.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Ecopetrol Profile

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.