Ecopetrol (EC) Competitors

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

Is EQNR or EC 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
Equinor ASA	8.07%	18.44%	6.04%
Ecopetrol	9.74%	5.64%	2.00%

Is EQNR or EC a better dividend stock?

Equinor ASA pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Ecopetrol pays an annual dividend of $1.51 per share and has a dividend yield of 16.4%. Equinor ASA pays out 46.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. 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.

Does the media favor EQNR or EC?

In the previous week, Equinor ASA had 9 more articles in the media than Ecopetrol. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Equinor ASA and 5 mentions for Ecopetrol. Equinor ASA's average media sentiment score of 0.29 beat Ecopetrol's score of -0.08 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	4 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Ecopetrol	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of EQNR or EC?

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 endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has higher valuation & earnings, 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	$106.80B	0.67	$8.81B	$3.16	8.08
Ecopetrol	$32.80B	0.58	$15.23B	$1.52	6.06

Which has more volatility & risk, EQNR or EC?

Equinor ASA has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ecopetrol has a beta of 0.84, suggesting that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend EQNR or EC?

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

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

Summary

Equinor ASA beats Ecopetrol on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.