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Ecopetrol (EC) Stock Dips While Market Gains: Key Facts

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Ecopetrol (EC - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $8.74, demonstrating a -0.79% swing from the preceding day's closing price. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.61%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.97%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.33%.

Shares of the oil and natural gas exploration company have depreciated by 3.93% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 2.26% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.36%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Ecopetrol in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.63, reflecting a 3.28% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $8.02 billion, down 7.53% from the prior-year quarter.

EC's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $2.06 per share and revenue of $32.41 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -13.45% and -2.32%, respectively.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Ecopetrol. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 12.09% lower. Ecopetrol currently has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).

Investors should also note Ecopetrol's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 4.28. This signifies a discount in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 5.29 for its industry.

The Oil and Gas - Integrated - Emerging Markets industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 242, putting it in the bottom 4% 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.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.


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