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 contrast the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Does the media prefer EQNR or EC?

In the previous week, Equinor ASA had 3 more articles in the media than Ecopetrol. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Equinor ASA and 4 mentions for Ecopetrol. Ecopetrol's average media sentiment score of 0.89 beat Equinor ASA's score of 0.66 indicating that Ecopetrol is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Equinor ASA	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ecopetrol	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership 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, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is EQNR or EC more profitable?

Ecopetrol has a net margin of 8.75% compared to Equinor ASA's net margin of 7.60%. Equinor ASA's return on equity of 16.91% beat Ecopetrol's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equinor ASA	7.60%	16.91%	5.43%
Ecopetrol	8.75%	5.15%	1.82%

Do analysts recommend EQNR or EC?

Equinor ASA currently has a consensus price target of $22.71, suggesting a potential downside of 6.36%. Ecopetrol has a consensus price target of $11.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.22%. Given Ecopetrol's stronger consensus rating and 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	7 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.81
Ecopetrol	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, EQNR or EC?

Ecopetrol has lower revenue, but higher 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	$103.77B	0.69	$8.81B	$3.01	8.06
Ecopetrol	$32.80B	0.57	$15.23B	$1.31	6.98

Which has more risk and volatility, EQNR or EC?

Equinor ASA has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ecopetrol has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is EQNR or EC a better dividend stock?

Equinor ASA pays an annual dividend of $1.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Ecopetrol pays an annual dividend of $1.51 per share and has a dividend yield of 16.5%. Equinor ASA pays out 40.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ecopetrol pays out 115.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Summary

Equinor ASA beats Ecopetrol on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.