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Bull of the Day: Ecopetrol (EC)

While the welts have just showed up after yesterday’s market whooping, there is still hope. If you can look past the NASDAQ beatdown we saw, you’ll see that crude is actually being kind. Crude futures pushed themselves up over $66, proving more resilient that many folks had thought. Eventually this should translate to solid earnings for the energy sector. One stock in this sector worth a look at today is Bull of the Day Ecopetrol (EC).

Ecopetrol S.A. operates as an integrated oil company. It operates through three segments: Exploration and Production; Transport and Logistics; and Refining, Petrochemical and Biofuels. The company produces crude oil and gas; and engages in the extraction, collection, treatment, storage and pumping, or compression of hydrocarbons. It also transports and distributes hydrocarbons, derivatives, and products. The company has 8,500 kilometers of transportation pipeline systems. In addition, it commercializes crude oils and by-products, including fuel oil, virgin naphtha, cracked naphtha, and aviation gasoline, and others; produces and markets polypropylene resin, compounds, and master batches; provides financing services; and offers refined and petrochemical products, as well as industrial service sales to customers. 

The company is currently a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) in an industry that ranks in the Top 2% of our Zacks Industry Rank. The main reason for the favorable rank is the recent string of bullish estimate revisions for next year’s earnings. Over the last sixty days, three analysts have increased their earnings estimates for next year, pushing up our Zacks Consensus Estimate from $1.28 to $1.52.

As for the stock price, it’s basically been on fire since the middle of October. Back then, the stock was trading under $10. A huge run has brought the stock up to $20. But if you’re a bull, beware of a potential double-top being put in at $20. Support lies at the 20-day moving average at $18.

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