Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Ecovyst from “hold” to “buy.” Across analysts, the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $14 average price target.
• Ecovyst reported quarterly EPS of $0.23, beating the $0.21 estimate, and revenue of $308.64 million, above forecasts and up 50.6% year over year.
• Director Patti Humble purchased 24,875 shares for about $250,000, increasing her stake by 273.38%.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Ecovyst in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Ecovyst from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. BWS Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Ecovyst in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Ecovyst from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ecovyst in a report on Friday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Ecovyst Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECVT opened at $10.93 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $10.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.76. Ecovyst has a twelve month low of $8.11 and a twelve month high of $15.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 34.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.08.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $308.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.45 million. Ecovyst had a net margin of 3.72% and a return on equity of 14.38%. The firm's revenue was up 50.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Ecovyst will post 0.60 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Patti Humble bought 24,875 shares of Ecovyst stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.05 per share, with a total value of $249,993.75. Following the acquisition, the director owned 33,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at $341,438.70. The trade was a 273.38% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.84% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecovyst

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecovyst by 1.3% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 120,187 shares of the company's stock worth $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,540 shares during the period. AlphaGrep UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ecovyst in the third quarter worth $183,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecovyst in the third quarter worth $4,305,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Ecovyst by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 28,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 4,463 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ecovyst during the 3rd quarter valued at $180,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.69% of the company's stock.

Ecovyst Company Profile

Ecovyst Inc. is a specialty chemicals company that supplies catalysts, materials and services to customers in the refining, chemicals and other industrial sectors. Its businesses include sulfuric acid services and catalyst technologies. Through its Ecoservices business, Ecovyst regenerates spent sulfuric acid for reuse and supplies virgin sulfuric acid. These services support industrial processes, including those used in petroleum refining and chemical manufacturing. The company's catalyst technologies include zeolite catalysts and silica-based materials used in refining and chemical applications.

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