Contrasting Teekay (NYSE:TK) & Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC)

Teekay (NYSE:TK) and Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, valuation and risk.

Risk and Volatility

Teekay has a beta of 0.49, suggesting that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ecopetrol has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

46.7% of Teekay shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of Teekay shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Teekay and Ecopetrol’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Teekay	10.96%	5.67%	5.08%
Ecopetrol	8.75%	5.15%	1.82%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Teekay and Ecopetrol, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Teekay	0	0	0	0	0.00
Ecopetrol	0	3	1	0	2.25

Ecopetrol has a consensus target price of $11.00, indicating a potential upside of 20.22%. Given Ecopetrol’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Ecopetrol is more favorable than Teekay.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Teekay and Ecopetrol”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Teekay	$1.22 billion	0.64	$133.77 million	$1.41	6.01
Ecopetrol	$130,436.43 billion	0.00	$15.23 billion	$1.31	6.98

Ecopetrol has higher revenue and earnings than Teekay. Teekay is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ecopetrol, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About Teekay

Teekay Corporation engages in the international crude oil and other marine transportation services worldwide. The company owns and operates crude oil and refined product tankers. It also provides ship-to-ship support services; tanker commercial management operation services; and operational and maintenance marine services. As of March 1, 2024, the company operated a fleet of approximately 53 owned and chartered-in vessels. It serves energy and utility companies, major oil traders, large oil consumers and petroleum product producers, government agencies, and various other entities that depend upon marine transportation. Teekay Corporation was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

About Ecopetrol

Ecopetrol S.A. operates as an integrated energy company. The company operates through four segments: Exploration and Production; Transport and Logistics; Refining, Petrochemical and Biofuels; and Electric Power Transmission and Toll Roads Concessions. It engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas; transportation of crude oil, motor fuels, fuel oil, and other refined products, including diesel, jet, and biofuels; processing and refining crude oil; distribution of natural gas and LPG; sale of refined and petrochemical products; supplying of electric power transmission services; design, development, construction, operation, and maintenance of road and energy infrastructure projects; and supplying of information technology and telecommunications services. As of December 31, 2022, the company had approximately 9,127 kilometers of crude oil and multi-purpose pipelines. It also produces and commercializes polypropylene resins and compounds, and masterbatches; and offers industrial service sales to customers and specialized management services. It has operations in Colombia, the United States, Asia, Central America and the Caribbean, Europe, and South America. The company was formerly known as Empresa Colombiana de Petróleos and changed its name to Ecopetrol S.A. in June 2003. Ecopetrol S.A. was incorporated in 1948 and is headquartered in Bogotá, Colombia.