Ecopetrol (EC) Competitors

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

Does the MarketBeat Community favor EC or EQNR?

Ecopetrol received 77 more outperform votes than Equinor ASA when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 57.18% of users gave Equinor ASA an outperform vote while only 52.96% of users gave Ecopetrol an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Ecopetrol	Outperform Votes 304 52.96%	Underperform Votes 270 47.04%
Equinor ASA	Outperform Votes 227 57.18%	Underperform Votes 170 42.82%

Does the media refer more to EC or EQNR?

In the previous week, Equinor ASA had 19 more articles in the media than Ecopetrol. MarketBeat recorded 28 mentions for Equinor ASA and 9 mentions for Ecopetrol. Ecopetrol's average media sentiment score of 0.54 beat Equinor ASA's score of 0.44 indicating that Ecopetrol is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ecopetrol	4 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Equinor ASA	10 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	5 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts recommend EC or EQNR?

Ecopetrol currently has a consensus price target of $11.00, indicating a potential upside of 36.90%. Equinor ASA has a consensus price target of $23.60, indicating a potential upside of 1.98%. Given Ecopetrol's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ecopetrol is more favorable than Equinor ASA.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ecopetrol	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Equinor ASA	3 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

Do insiders and institutionals believe in EC or EQNR?

5.5% of Equinor ASA shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Equinor ASA shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, EC or EQNR?

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

Is EC or EQNR a better dividend stock?

Ecopetrol pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 18.9%. Equinor ASA pays an annual dividend of $1.21 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.2%. Ecopetrol pays out 72.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Equinor ASA pays out 38.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Is EC or EQNR 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
Ecopetrol	12.92%	8.66%	3.04%
Equinor ASA	8.49%	20.33%	6.83%

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, EC or EQNR?

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
Ecopetrol	$133.33T	0.00	$25.27B	$2.09	3.84
Equinor ASA	$102.50B	0.63	$8.81B	$3.11	7.44

Summary

Equinor ASA beats Ecopetrol on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.