Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Invests $13.76 Million in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,737,389 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,760,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 81.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 190,293 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth approximately $790,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,060,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the 4th quarter valued at $179,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 48,309.7% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 144,745 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 144,446 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on EC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup upgraded Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $9.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecopetrol from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $7.50 to $9.50 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research 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.com, Ecopetrol has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.00.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 5.7 %

NYSE EC opened at $9.01 on Friday. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 1 year low of $7.21 and a 1 year high of $12.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.51 billion, a PE ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The business’s 50-day moving average is $9.93 and its 200 day moving average is $8.82.

Ecopetrol Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.5202 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This is a boost from Ecopetrol’s previous — dividend of $0.49. This represents a dividend yield of 30%. Ecopetrol’s payout ratio is 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.