Ecopetrol (EC) Competitors

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) and Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) are both large-cap energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, community ranking, risk and media sentiment.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in EQNR or EC?

Ecopetrol received 77 more outperform votes than Equinor ASA when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 57.61% of users gave Equinor ASA an outperform vote while only 52.96% of users gave Ecopetrol an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Equinor ASA	Outperform Votes 227 57.61%	Underperform Votes 167 42.39%
Ecopetrol	Outperform Votes 304 52.96%	Underperform Votes 270 47.04%

Is EQNR or EC more profitable?

Ecopetrol has a net margin of 12.92% compared to Equinor ASA's net margin of 8.49%. Equinor ASA's return on equity of 20.33% beat Ecopetrol's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equinor ASA	8.49%	20.33%	6.83%
Ecopetrol	12.92%	8.66%	3.04%

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, EQNR or EC?

Ecopetrol has higher revenue and earnings than Equinor ASA. Ecopetrol is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Equinor ASA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equinor ASA	$102.50B	0.63	$8.81B	$3.11	7.41
Ecopetrol	$133.33T	0.00	$25.27B	$2.09	4.21

Do institutionals and insiders believe in EQNR or EC?

5.5% of Equinor ASA shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Equinor ASA shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media refer more to EQNR or EC?

In the previous week, Equinor ASA had 9 more articles in the media than Ecopetrol. MarketBeat recorded 20 mentions for Equinor ASA and 11 mentions for Ecopetrol. Equinor ASA's average media sentiment score of 0.52 beat Ecopetrol's score of 0.06 indicating that Equinor ASA is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Equinor ASA	8 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ecopetrol	1 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is EQNR or EC a better dividend stock?

Equinor ASA pays an annual dividend of $1.21 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Ecopetrol pays an annual dividend of $1.67 per share and has a dividend yield of 19.0%. Equinor ASA pays out 38.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ecopetrol pays out 79.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Do analysts recommend EQNR or EC?

Equinor ASA currently has a consensus price target of $28.10, indicating a potential upside of 21.98%. Ecopetrol has a consensus price target of $11.00, indicating a potential upside of 25.07%. Given Ecopetrol's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ecopetrol is more favorable than Equinor ASA.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equinor ASA	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
Ecopetrol	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has more risk & volatility, EQNR or EC?

Equinor ASA has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ecopetrol has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Equinor ASA beats Ecopetrol on 14 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.