Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. (NYSE:ONT) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts are cautious on Montrose Environmental Group, giving the stock a consensus rating of “Hold” from five covering analysts. The mix includes two sells, one hold, and two buys, with an average 12-month target price of about $32.33.
• The company recently beat first-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, reporting EPS of $0.35 versus $0.24 expected and revenue of $193.27 million versus $186.24 million forecast. Revenue rose 2.2% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 0.57.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including the general counsel and CEO, and insiders sold 107,527 shares over the last quarter. Despite that, institutional ownership remains high at 87.87%.

Shares of Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. (NYSE:ONT - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.3333.

A number of research firms have issued reports on ONT. Zacks Research lowered shares of Montrose Environmental Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Montrose Environmental Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Montrose Environmental Group from $35.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday.

Montrose Environmental Group Stock Up 0.5%

ONT stock opened at $16.26 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.09 and a 200 day moving average of $24.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $587.64 million, a PE ratio of 325.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Montrose Environmental Group has a 52 week low of $15.40 and a 52 week high of $32.00.

Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:ONT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $193.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.24 million. Montrose Environmental Group had a net margin of 0.71% and a return on equity of 5.61%. Montrose Environmental Group's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.90) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Montrose Environmental Group will post 0.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Montrose Environmental Group

In other Montrose Environmental Group news, General Counsel Nasym Afsari sold 43,348 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total transaction of $1,229,782.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 204,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,812,388.86. This trade represents a 17.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Vijay Manthripragada sold 46,121 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.41, for a total transaction of $1,171,934.61. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 236,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,016,783.08. This represents a 16.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 107,527 shares of company stock valued at $2,908,583. 10.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Montrose Environmental Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Montrose Environmental Group by 3,733.3% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,500 shares of the company's stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 11,200 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Montrose Environmental Group by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,346,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,470,000 after purchasing an additional 66,543 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new position in shares of Montrose Environmental Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Montrose Environmental Group by 41.9% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 4,493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Montrose Environmental Group by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 83,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 12,040 shares in the last quarter. 87.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Montrose Environmental Group

Montrose Environmental Group NYSE: MEG is a global provider of environmental technical and monitoring services, delivering solutions for site assessment, remediation, compliance and long-term environmental stewardship. The company serves a broad range of industries, including energy, manufacturing, chemicals, mining and government agencies, supporting clients with risk management strategies, regulatory permitting and environmental permitting.

Montrose's core offerings encompass environmental consulting, engineering design, field sampling and laboratory analysis, plus innovative digital monitoring platforms.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.