Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:ONT) Share Price Breaks Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Montrose Environmental Group shares rose 5.9%, trading as high as $16.44 and breaking above the 50-day moving average of $15.58; the stock last traded at $15.80.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $17.50 average price target, with recent firms cutting targets and downgrading their views.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.51 in EPS versus $0.08 expected and revenue of $186.66 million versus $179.69 million estimated; institutional investors own 87.87% of outstanding shares.

Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. (NYSE:ONT - Get Free Report) shares passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $15.58 and traded as high as $16.44. Montrose Environmental Group shares last traded at $15.80, with a volume of 675,893 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ONT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Montrose Environmental Group from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Montrose Environmental Group from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays cut Montrose Environmental Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $19.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Montrose Environmental Group from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Montrose Environmental Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $17.50.

Montrose Environmental Group Stock Up 5.9%

The company has a market cap of $554.90 million, a PE ratio of -47.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 2.00.

Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:ONT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $186.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.69 million. Montrose Environmental Group had a positive return on equity of 4.11% and a negative net margin of 1.44%. Research analysts anticipate that Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new stake in shares of Montrose Environmental Group during the first quarter worth about $201,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Montrose Environmental Group by 3,733.3% during the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 11,200 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Montrose Environmental Group by 41.9% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 4,493 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Montrose Environmental Group by 5.2% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,346,257 shares of the company's stock worth $29,470,000 after acquiring an additional 66,543 shares during the last quarter. 87.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Montrose Environmental Group Company Profile

Montrose Environmental Group, Inc is an environmental services company that helps industrial, commercial, government and other organizations address environmental compliance, sustainability and risk-management needs. Its services span the full project life cycle, from environmental assessment and permitting to monitoring, remediation and ongoing compliance support.

The company provides air quality and emissions testing, environmental laboratory services, consulting, engineering, water and waste management, environmental health and safety support, and remediation services.

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