In the latest market close, Ecopetrol (EC) reached $7.57, with a +0.13% movement compared to the previous day. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 2.53%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 3.57%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 2.95%.

Shares of the oil and natural gas exploration company witnessed a loss of 12.8% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Oils-Energy sector with its loss of 3.81% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.66%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Ecopetrol in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on November 13, 2024. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.58, down 4.92% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $8.03 billion, down 7.46% from the year-ago period.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $2 per share and a revenue of $32.31 billion, indicating changes of -15.97% and -2.6%, respectively, from the former year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Ecopetrol. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 3.16% decrease. Ecopetrol presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, Ecopetrol currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 3.79. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 4.62.

The Oil and Gas - Integrated - Emerging Markets industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 99, putting it in the top 40% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.