Short Interest in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Drops By 6.5%

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,300,000 shares, a decrease of 6.5% from the October 31st total of 14,230,000 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,490,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.3 days.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

EC traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $8.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 169,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,109,355. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company’s 50-day moving average is $8.19 and its 200-day moving average is $9.87. Ecopetrol has a 52 week low of $7.21 and a 52 week high of $13.14. The firm has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a PE ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Ecopetrol from $8.50 to $7.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecopetrol

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 1.6% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 887,424 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,924,000 after purchasing an additional 13,707 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ecopetrol by 81.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 425,116 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,796,000 after buying an additional 190,293 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Ecopetrol by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 272,126 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,045,000 after buying an additional 15,467 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 7.0% during the second quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 222,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,492,000 after buying an additional 14,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the second quarter valued at about $1,890,000.

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.