Ecopetrol (EC) Competitors

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

Is EC or EQNR more profitable?

Ecopetrol has a net margin of 9.74% compared to Equinor ASA's net margin of 8.07%. Equinor ASA's return on equity of 18.44% beat Ecopetrol's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ecopetrol	9.74%	5.64%	2.00%
Equinor ASA	8.07%	18.44%	6.04%

Which has stronger valuation and 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	$133.39T	0.00	$15.23B	$1.52	6.06
Equinor ASA	$103.77B	0.69	$8.81B	$3.16	8.08

Which has more risk and volatility, EC or EQNR?

Ecopetrol has a beta of 0.84, indicating that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equinor ASA has a beta of 0.58, indicating 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 $1.51 per share and has a dividend yield of 16.4%. Equinor ASA pays an annual dividend of $1.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Ecopetrol pays out 99.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Equinor ASA pays out 38.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Does the media prefer EC or EQNR?

In the previous week, Equinor ASA had 6 more articles in the media than Ecopetrol. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Equinor ASA and 9 mentions for Ecopetrol. Equinor ASA's average media sentiment score of 0.24 beat Ecopetrol's score of 0.03 indicating that Equinor ASA is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ecopetrol	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Equinor ASA	4 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts rate EC or EQNR?

Ecopetrol presently has a consensus price target of $11.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.44%. Equinor ASA has a consensus price target of $22.71, suggesting a potential downside of 11.05%. Given Ecopetrol's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Ecopetrol is more favorable than Equinor ASA.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ecopetrol	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Equinor ASA	5 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.13

Do insiders and institutionals believe in EC or EQNR?

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 hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Equinor ASA beats Ecopetrol on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.