Ecopetrol (EC) closed the most recent trading day at $16.69, moving -1.3% from the previous trading session. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.76% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.68%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.13%.
Heading into today, shares of the oil and natural gas exploration company had gained 0.71% over the past month, outpacing the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 1.06% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 1.26%.
The upcoming earnings release of Ecopetrol will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.43, reflecting a 38.71% increase from the same quarter last year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $8.8 billion, reflecting a 18% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.85 per share and a revenue of $36.23 billion, representing changes of +46.83% and +22.4%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Ecopetrol should also be noted by investors. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent 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, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. Ecopetrol presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
With respect to valuation, Ecopetrol is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 9.17. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 8.6.
We can additionally observe that EC currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.25. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The Oil and Gas - Integrated - International was holding an average PEG ratio of 0.62 at yesterday's closing price.
The Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 84, placing it within the top 35% of over 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.
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).