Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,070,000 shares, an increase of 69.6% from the December 15th total of 1,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 926,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Ecovyst

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECVT. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ecovyst by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 12,852,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,043,000 after buying an additional 2,753,470 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Ecovyst by 3.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,210,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,711,000 after acquiring an additional 234,824 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Ecovyst by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,152,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,292,000 after acquiring an additional 49,413 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ecovyst by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,535,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,374,000 after purchasing an additional 55,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Ecovyst by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,426,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,622,000 after purchasing an additional 33,292 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.69% of the company’s stock.

Ecovyst Stock Performance

ECVT stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $7.84. 99,789 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 626,288. Ecovyst has a 52 week low of $6.02 and a 52 week high of $11.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $7.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a current ratio of 2.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $913.79 million, a PE ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on ECVT. Citigroup raised their target price on Ecovyst from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ecovyst from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BWS Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Ecovyst in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

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.