Ecopetrol (EC) Advances While Market Declines: Some Information for Investors

Ecopetrol (EC) closed the most recent trading day at $8.86, moving +0.57% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 2.24%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 1.73%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 3.07%.Prior to today's trading, shares of the oil and natural gas exploration company had lost 14.63% over the past month. This has lagged the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 10.3% and the S&P 500's loss of 4.17% in that time.Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Ecopetrol in its upcoming release. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $0.58, showcasing a 16% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $7.35 billion, indicating a 7.89% decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year.It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Ecopetrol. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 3.17% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Right now, Ecopetrol possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).Digging into valuation, Ecopetrol currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 4.81. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 7.8, which means Ecopetrol is trading at a discount to the group.The Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 177, finds itself in the bottom 29% echelons 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.Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Ecopetrol S.A. (EC): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks