In the latest close session, Ecopetrol (EC) was up +1.72% at $15.39. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.81%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.27%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 1.3%.
The oil and natural gas exploration company's stock has dropped by 6.66% in the past month, falling short of the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 3.61% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.13%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Ecopetrol in its upcoming release. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.79, indicating a 276.19% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $9.52 billion, indicating a 34.24% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.02 per share and a revenue of $33.77 billion, representing changes of +60.32% and +14.09%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Ecopetrol. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 7.34% downward. Ecopetrol is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Ecopetrol is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 7.49. This indicates no noticeable deviation in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 7.49.
It's also important to note that EC currently trades at a PEG ratio of 0.64. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry was having an average PEG ratio of 0.61.
The Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 201, putting it in the bottom 19% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
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Ecopetrol S.A. (EC): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).