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PDC Energy (PDCE) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

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PDC Energy closed at $57.68 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.95% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.15%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.38%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.05%.

Heading into today, shares of the independent oil and gas company had gained 13.35% over the past month, outpacing the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 10.7% and the S&P 500's loss of 7.66% in that time.

PDC Energy will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.45, up 122.73% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $695.45 million, up 149.66% from the year-ago period.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for PDC Energy. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 6.44% higher within the past month. PDC Energy currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note PDC Energy's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 5.3. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 5.7.

The Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 60, which puts it in the top 24% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.

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