Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Declares — Dividend of $0.83

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) announced a — dividend on Tuesday, March 26th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of 0.8254 per share by the oil and gas company on Wednesday, April 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 20.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This is an increase from Ecopetrol’s previous — dividend of $0.15.

Ecopetrol has increased its dividend payment by an average of 19.4% annually over the last three years. Ecopetrol has a dividend payout ratio of 160.2% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect Ecopetrol to earn $2.34 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $3.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 141.0%.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of EC traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $11.33. 1,826,646 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,852,022. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.47. Ecopetrol has a one year low of $8.59 and a one year high of $13.14.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecopetrol

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Ecopetrol by 0.5% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 198,961 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,700,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 51,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 11.1% during the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 10,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. Credit Suisse AG boosted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 10.8% during the second quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 11,308 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecopetrol by 15.6% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 17,219 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,321 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Ecopetrol from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered Ecopetrol from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $8.50 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Ecopetrol from $12.00 to $10.30 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.00.

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.