52,000 Shares in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Acquired by X Square Capital LLC

X Square Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 52,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $412,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of EC. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Ecopetrol by 317.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 3,638 shares during the period. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,480 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 2,128 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Ecopetrol by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,978 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ecopetrol from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $7.50 to $9.50 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.00.

Ecopetrol Stock Up 0.0 %

Ecopetrol stock opened at $10.41 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.78. The stock has a market cap of $21.39 billion, a PE ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.22. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 1-year low of $7.21 and a 1-year 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.5202 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a yield of 30%. This is a boost from Ecopetrol’s previous — dividend of $0.49. Ecopetrol’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.87%.

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.