Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Expected to Post Quarterly Sales of $9.22 Billion

Brokerages expect Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC – Get Rating) to post $9.22 billion in sales for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Two analysts have provided estimates for Ecopetrol’s earnings, with the highest sales estimate coming in at $9.73 billion and the lowest estimate coming in at $8.71 billion. Ecopetrol posted sales of $4.83 billion during the same quarter last year, which suggests a positive year-over-year growth rate of 90.9%. The company is scheduled to announce its next earnings report on Monday, January 1st.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Ecopetrol will report full year sales of $35.96 billion for the current financial year, with estimates ranging from $33.50 billion to $38.42 billion. For the next financial year, analysts expect that the business will report sales of $34.08 billion, with estimates ranging from $29.94 billion to $38.21 billion. Zacks Investment Research’s sales averages are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side analysts that follow Ecopetrol.

EC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 1st. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Ecopetrol in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $22.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.73.

EC traded down $1.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.87. 54,291 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,203,992. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 1.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $17.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.34. Ecopetrol has a 1-year low of $11.52 and a 1-year high of $19.81.

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 20th will be given a dividend of $1.379 per share. This represents a yield of 7.25%. This is a boost from Ecopetrol’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 19th. Ecopetrol’s payout ratio is 6.12%.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EC. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 28.4% during the first quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 27,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 6,105 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 6.9% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 18,805 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 13.1% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 13,352 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,543 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 8.7% during the third quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 11,308 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Ecopetrol by 12.4% in the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 167,219 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,400,000 after acquiring an additional 18,508 shares in the last quarter. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ecopetrol (Get Rating)

Ecopetrol SA operates as an integrated oil and gas company. The company operates through three segments: Exploration and Production; Transport and Logistics; and Refining, Petrochemical and Biofuels. It engages in the exploration, production, and sale of oil and gas; offshore exploration; energy supply services; specialized management services; and distribution of natural gas and LPG activities.

Featured Articles