Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 12,400,000 shares, an increase of 8.3% from the September 15th total of 11,450,000 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,970,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.3 days.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:EC traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $8.16. 2,432,344 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,011,554. Ecopetrol has a 1-year low of $8.13 and a 1-year high of $13.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $9.39 and a 200 day moving average of $10.80.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.15). Ecopetrol had a net margin of 13.92% and a return on equity of 6.64%. The company had revenue of $8.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.49 billion. Research analysts forecast that Ecopetrol will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EC has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. 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. lowered Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $12.00 to $8.50 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Ecopetrol Company 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.