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Is Ecopetrol (EC) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is Ecopetrol (EC - Free Report) . EC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value.

Investors should also note that EC holds a PEG ratio of 0.64. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. EC's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 0.80. Over the past 52 weeks, EC's PEG has been as high as 0.73 and as low as 0.41, with a median of 0.51.

Finally, investors should note that EC has a P/CF ratio of 2.28. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. EC's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 6. EC's P/CF has been as high as 2.91 and as low as 2.02, with a median of 2.39, all within the past year.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Ecopetrol's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that EC is an impressive value stock right now.


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