Ecopetrol (EC) Dips More Than Broader Market: What You Should Know

Ecopetrol (EC) ended the recent trading session at $14.59, demonstrating a -5.93% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.1% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.35%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.43%. Coming into today, shares of the oil and natural gas exploration company had gained 4.37% in the past month. In that same time, the Oils-Energy sector lost 7.58%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.34%. Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Ecopetrol in its upcoming release. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.09, showcasing a 419.05% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $9.58 billion, up 35.06% from the year-ago period. For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.18 per share and a revenue of $35.51 billion, representing changes of +73.02% and +19.99%, respectively, from the prior year. Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Ecopetrol. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook. Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 8.15% decrease. Ecopetrol is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. In terms of valuation, Ecopetrol is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 7.11. This represents a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 7.33. We can additionally observe that EC currently boasts a PEG ratio of 0.82. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Oil and Gas - Integrated - International was holding an average PEG ratio of 0.53 at yesterday's closing price. The Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 56, which puts it in the top 23% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions. Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks