Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) Earns Buy Rating from BWS Financial

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by research analysts at BWS Financial in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $12.00 price target on the stock. BWS Financial’s price target indicates a potential upside of 57.48% from the stock’s current price.

ECVT has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Ecovyst from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Ecovyst from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Ecovyst Stock Up 14.4 %

ECVT stock opened at $7.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.72. The company has a market capitalization of $887.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.01. Ecovyst has a fifty-two week low of $6.02 and a fifty-two week high of $11.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.65 and a 200-day moving average of $8.12.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $182.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.79 million. Ecovyst had a return on equity of 7.11% and a net margin of 7.74%. The firm’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ecovyst will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ecovyst news, insider Joseph S. Koscinski purchased 4,807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.26 per share, for a total transaction of $30,091.82. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,609 shares in the company, valued at $3,409,252.34. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ecovyst news, insider Paul Whittleston purchased 7,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.50 per share, for a total transaction of $50,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,542 shares in the company, valued at $374,023. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph S. Koscinski acquired 4,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $6.26 per share, for a total transaction of $30,091.82. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 544,609 shares in the company, valued at $3,409,252.34. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecovyst

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ecovyst by 58.3% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 521,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,811,000 after buying an additional 191,839 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Ecovyst by 27.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 459,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,120,000 after purchasing an additional 98,719 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in Ecovyst by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 5,026,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,040,000 after purchasing an additional 178,001 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its stake in Ecovyst by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 1,729,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,516,000 after purchasing an additional 292,637 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Ecovyst by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 59,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 9,840 shares during the period. 86.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecovyst Company Profile

Ecovyst Inc offers specialty catalysts and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Ecoservices and Advanced Materials & Catalysts. The Ecoservices segment provides sulfuric acid recycling services and end-to-end logistics for production of alkylate for refineries; and virgin sulfuric acid for mining, water treatment, and industrial applications.