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Here's Why Ecopetrol (EC) Gained But Lagged the Market Today

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Ecopetrol (EC - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $9.02, moving +0.33% from the previous trading session. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.9%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.81%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.22%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the oil and natural gas exploration company had lost 2.49% over the past month. This has lagged the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 5.22% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.15% in that time.

The upcoming earnings release of Ecopetrol will be of great interest to investors. In that report, analysts expect Ecopetrol to post earnings of $0.63 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 3.28%. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $8.02 billion, indicating a 7.53% decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $2.06 per share and a revenue of $32.41 billion, indicating changes of -13.45% and -2.32%, respectively, from the former year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates 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.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational 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 last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 12.09% decrease. Currently, Ecopetrol is carrying a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).

Investors should also note Ecopetrol's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 4.36. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 5.39.

The Oil and Gas - Integrated - Emerging Markets industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 239, this industry ranks in the bottom 6% of all industries, numbering over 250.

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.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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