Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 203,801 Shares of Ecovyst Inc. $ECVT

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. has increased its stake in Ecovyst Inc. by 10.7%, acquiring an additional 203,801 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately 2.1 million shares valued at $13 million.
• Ecovyst's stock price increased by 3.3%, with shares currently priced at around $9.18, showing significant movement within the past year, ranging from a low of $5.24 to a high of $9.31.
• Brokerages are optimistic about Ecovyst, with a majority issuing a "Buy" rating and a consensus target price of $10.00, indicating anticipated growth in the company's performance.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,106,949 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 203,801 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.79% of Ecovyst worth $13,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Shapiro Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecovyst by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 4,830,268 shares of the company's stock worth $36,903,000 after acquiring an additional 868,397 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecovyst by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,163,134 shares of the company's stock worth $13,411,000 after acquiring an additional 162,690 shares during the last quarter. Western Standard LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecovyst by 79.3% during the 4th quarter. Western Standard LLC now owns 1,251,626 shares of the company's stock worth $9,562,000 after acquiring an additional 553,590 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Ecovyst by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,250,750 shares of the company's stock worth $9,556,000 after acquiring an additional 463,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ecovyst by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,064,745 shares of the company's stock worth $8,135,000 after acquiring an additional 83,408 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.69% of the company's stock.

Ecovyst Price Performance

NYSE ECVT traded down $0.02 on Friday, reaching $9.10. The company had a trading volume of 483,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,564,387. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of -75.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.18. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $8.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.54. Ecovyst Inc. has a 12 month low of $5.24 and a 12 month high of $9.31.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12. Ecovyst had a negative net margin of 1.91% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The company had revenue of $200.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.27 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. Ecovyst's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecovyst has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.520-0.680 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ecovyst Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. BWS Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Ecovyst in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ecovyst from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $10.00.

About Ecovyst

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.