Ecopetrol (EC) closed at $14.77 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.01% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.58%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.05%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.91%.
Coming into today, shares of the oil and natural gas exploration company had gained 8.27% in the past month. In that same time, the Oils-Energy sector lost 1.18%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.96%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Ecopetrol in its upcoming earnings disclosure. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $0.6, marking a 66.67% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $7.7 billion, up 2.66% from the year-ago period.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $2.37 per share and a revenue of $34.36 billion, indicating changes of 0% and +43.53%, respectively, from the former year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Ecopetrol. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. 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, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 21.71% higher. Ecopetrol is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Investors should also note Ecopetrol's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 6.29. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 8.15.
We can also see that EC currently has a PEG ratio of 0.72. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Oil and Gas - Integrated - International was holding an average PEG ratio of 0.57 at yesterday's closing price.
The Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 7, putting it in the top 3% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
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Ecopetrol S.A. (EC): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).