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PDC Energy (PDCE) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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PDC Energy closed at $59.86 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.34% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 3.06%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 2.68%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.09%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the independent oil and gas company had lost 17.67% over the past month. This has lagged the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 12.66% and the S&P 500's loss of 4.31% in that time.

PDC Energy will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect PDC Energy to post earnings of $4.77 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 187.35%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $1.11 billion, up 106.3% from the year-ago period.

PDCE's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $18.73 per share and revenue of $4.44 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +134.42% and +86.39%, respectively.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for PDC Energy should also be noted by investors. 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 company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 4.95% higher. PDC Energy currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, PDC Energy is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 3.15. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 4.23.

The Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 48, putting it in the top 19% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. 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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