Reviewing Blue Dolphin Energy (OTCMKTS:BDCO) & Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC)

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

Risk & Volatility

Blue Dolphin Energy has a beta of 0.15, suggesting that its stock price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ecopetrol has a beta of 1.28, suggesting that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Blue Dolphin Energy and Ecopetrol, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Blue Dolphin Energy	0	0	0	0	N/A
Ecopetrol	2	4	0	0	1.67

Ecopetrol has a consensus price target of $11.27, indicating a potential downside of 3.87%. Given Ecopetrol’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Ecopetrol is more favorable than Blue Dolphin Energy.

Profitability

This table compares Blue Dolphin Energy and Ecopetrol’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Blue Dolphin Energy	7.83%	91.40%	30.43%
Ecopetrol	14.69%	66.73%	23.50%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Blue Dolphin Energy and Ecopetrol’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Blue Dolphin Energy	$396.05 million	0.26	$31.01 million	$2.08	3.36
Ecopetrol	$171.83 billion	N/A	$25.27 billion	$2.33	5.03

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

Summary

Ecopetrol beats Blue Dolphin Energy on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Blue Dolphin Energy

Blue Dolphin Energy Company, an independent downstream energy company, engages in the refining and marketing of petroleum products in the United States. It operates through two segments, Refinery Operations, and Tolling and Terminaling. The company produces finished products, including jet fuel, as well as various intermediate products, such as naphtha, heavy oil mud blendstock, and atmospheric gas oil; and conducts tolling and terminaling services at the Nixon facility. It also provides storage tank rentals and ancillary services. The company was incorporated in 1986 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Blue Dolphin Energy Company is a subsidiary of Lazarus Energy Holdings, LLC.

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.